Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep;36(6):e3307.
doi: 10.1002/dmrr.3307. Epub 2020 Mar 19.

Insulin resistance is associated with impaired olfactory function in adult patients with type 1 diabetes: A cross-sectional study

Bogusz Falkowski  1 , Anna Duda-Sobczak  1 , Aleksandra Araszkiewicz  1 , Maciej Chudzinski  1 , Magdalena Urbas  2 , Ewa Gajewska  1 , Lukasz Borucki  2 , Dorota Zozulinska-Ziolkiewicz  1
Affiliations

Insulin resistance is associated with impaired olfactory function in adult patients with type 1 diabetes: A cross-sectional study

Bogusz Falkowski et al. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Aim: To investigate whether insulin resistance is a predictor for decreased olfactory function in adult type 1 diabetes patients (T1DM).

Materials and methods: The following parameters were examined in the group of 113 T1DM participants: body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), TG/HDL ratio, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c ), visceral fat (VF) in body bioimpedance, specific calculators (eGDR, VAI). Bilateral olfactory test score (BOTS) was performed using 12-odour-tests from Sniffin' Sticks. Then participants were allocated to one of two groups: normosmia (10-12 odours identified) or hyposmia/anosmia (0-9 odours). The association between BOTS and insulin resistance indicators was analyzed using: Spearman's rank correlation, multivariate linear regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

Results: 49.6% participants were diagnosed with hyposmia/anosmia, median BOTS was 10. BOTS correlated significantly with: WHR, TG, VF index, TG/HDL ratio, VAI, and eGDR. In multivariate linear regression analysis higher WHR turned out to be statistically significant independent predictor of lower BOTS (β = -0.36; P = .005) after adjustment for age, sex, TG and peripheral neuropathy (R2 = 0.19; P = .0005). The ROC analysis indicated a WHR cut-off of 0.92 [area under the ROC curve (AUC): 0.737; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.647-0.828, P < .0001] as the best among evaluated factors significantly affecting hyposmia/anosmia occurrence (sensitivity of this cut-off 0.50 and specificity 0.86).

Conclusions: We have provided evidence of an association between lowered insulin sensitivity expressed in bioelectrical impedance analysis, anthropometrical (WHR), laboratory (TG/HDL ratio) measurements, specific calculators (eGDR, VAI) and deteriorated olfactory function.

Keywords: WHR; chronic complications; insulin sensitivity; olfaction; type 1 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Pence TS, Reiter ER, DiNardo LJ, Costanzo RM. Risk factors for hazardous events in olfactory-impaired patients. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014;140(10):951-955.
    1. Miwa T, Furukawa M, Tsukatani T, Costanzo RM, DiNardo LJ, Reiter ER. Impact of olfactory impairment on quality of life and disability. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127(5):497-503.
    1. Siderowf A, Jennings D, Eberly S, et al. Impaired olfaction and other prodromal features in the Parkinson at-risk syndrome study. Mov Disord. 2012;27(3):406-412.
    1. Gray AJ, Staples V, Murren K, Dhariwal A, Bentham P. Olfactory identification is impaired in clinic-based patients with vascular dementia and senile dementia of Alzheimer type. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2001;16(5):513-517.
    1. Hori Y, Matsuda O, Ichikawa S. Olfactory function in elderly people and patients with Alzheimer's disease. Psychogeriatrics. 2015;15(3):179-185.