The Pocket Smell Test: Successfully discriminating probable Alzheimer's dementia from vascular dementia and major depression

The present study extended previous work on olfactory dysfunction (odor identification deficits) by using the Pocket Smell Test (PST) to discriminate between groups of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and major depression (MD). Sixty patients meeting the DSM-IV c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2002, Vol.14 (2), p.197-201
Main Authors: DUFF, Kevin, MCCAFFREY, Robert J, SOLOMON, Gary S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis
Biological and medical sciences
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Dementia, Vascular - diagnosis
Depression
Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mood disorders
Neurology
Neuropsychological Tests
Odorants
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Sensitivity and Specificity
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Summary:The present study extended previous work on olfactory dysfunction (odor identification deficits) by using the Pocket Smell Test (PST) to discriminate between groups of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and major depression (MD). Sixty patients meeting the DSM-IV criteria for either AD, VaD, or MD (20 per group) underwent assessment with the PST, a three-item screening measure of odor identification, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Patients with AD scored significantly lower than patients with either VaD or MD on the PST, even after controlling for MMSE scores. A PST score of > or =1 (i.e., 1 or 0 correct) discriminated between patients with and without AD with a classification accuracy of 95% (sensitivity 100%, specificity 92.5%). Olfactory assessment may be of diagnostic utility in the differential diagnosis of AD versus VaD versus MD in elderly patients.
ISSN:0895-0172
1545-7222
DOI:10.1176/appi.neuropsych.14.2.197