A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE T-AND-T OLFACTOMETER AND THE UNIVERSITY-OF-PENNSYLVANIA SMELL IDENTIFICATION TEST IN A JAPANESE POPULATION

The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) and a smell ability questionnaire were administered to 167 Japanese volunte ers ranging in age from 20 to 59 years. Of these subjects, 80 also rec eived the T&T olfactometer threshold test. Of the latter subjects, 36 were patients tested before endoscopic nasal surgery for sinusitis and polyposis. The patients exhibited decreased smell function, as measur ed by the T&T olfactometer, the UPSIT, and a 30-item version of the UP SIT in which the 10 least familiar items were removed (ps < 0.001). Sp earman correlations ranging from 0.53 to 0.70 were found between (i) s cores on the 30- and 40-item UPSITs and (ii) the T&T detection and rec ognition threshold values. Significant correlations were found between scores on the smell ability questionnaire and the olfactory test meas ures (UPSIT30 r = 0.56; UPSIT40 r = 0.58; T&T detection r = 0.56; T&T recognition r = 069, p < 0001), indicating that subjects are relativel y accurate in assessing their olfactory ability. This study suggests t hat the 30 and 40-item UPSITs correlate well with measures derived fro m the T&T olfactometer, and that all three tests are sensitive to the smell loss of Japanese sinusitis/polyposis patients.