Olfactory identification deficits and increased mortality in the community

Objective To examine the association between odor identification deficits and future mortality in a multiethnic community cohort of older adults. Methods Participants were evaluated with the 40‐item University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). Follow‐up occurred at 2‐year intervals with information on death obtained from informant interviews and the National Death Index. Results During follow‐up (mean = 4.1 years, standard deviation = 2.6), 349 of 1,169 (29.9%) participants died. Participants who died were more likely to be older (p