The Usefulness and Limitation of the Smell Identification Test as an Olfactory Function Test in the Nagoya Area, Japan

The Smell Identification Test (SIT; 12 odors) was developed as an olfactory test which can be used outside of the United States. This test has been found useful for clinical assessment of olfactory function in Japan. In this study, 81 normal volunteers and 93 patients with complaints of olfactory dysfunction, ranging in age from 20 to 79 years, were given the SIT and a quantified questionnare about their ability to smell (full mark 30). In the normal group, the mean score of the SIT was 9.8; in the patient group it was 5.9. The percentage of correct answers for each item in the normal group was significantly higher than that in the patient group (p<0.05). However, older persons (more than 65 years old) showed the poorest performance in the SIT. There was a relatively high correlation between the SIT scores and the scores of the questionnaire (Spearman; r=0.77).