Performance on a smell screening test (The MODSIT): A study of 510 predominantly illiterate Chinese subjects

• Published in: Physiology & behavior 1995-12, Vol.58 (6), p.1251-1255
• Main Authors: Liu, Hsiu-Chih, Wang, Shuu-Jiun, Lin, Kong-Ping, Lin, Ker-Neng, Fuh, Jong-Ling, Teng, Evelyn Lee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Age Distribution; Aged; Aging - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; China; Education; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; MODSIT; Odorants; Olfaction. Taste; Perception; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reliability; Smell - physiology; Smell test; Smoking; Validity
• ISSN: 0031-9384; 1873-507X
• DOI: 10.1016/0031-9384(95)02042-X

The 12-item Modular Smell Identification Test (MODSIT) was administered to 239 male and 271 female Chinese subjects whose age ranged from 50 to 92 years (68.3 ± 10.9) and whose education ranged from 0 to 20 years (2.5 ± 4.3). Every participant was examined by a physician and was found to be free of dementia, stroke, and Parkinson's disease. Different from the standard procedures, only one-third of each odor pad was used for each subject, the four odor choices were presented orally for the majority of subjects, and they were not forced to make a selection when they could not detect or identify the odor. The average level of performance was 46% correct. The score was negatively associated with age, positively associated with education and with performance on a dementia screening test, and corroborated with subjects' report of smell deterioration in recent years. Nonsmokers and women performed better than smokers and men. The 12-item MODSIT had an internal consistency reliability of 0.73 and a 7-month retest stability of 0.57 with different examiners. The MODSIT is satisfactory for group studies, even when administered with suboptimal procedures such as those used in the present study.