Updated January 21, 2015.
Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.
Definition:
Anosmia is an impaired sense of smell, and can manifest as a partial or total loss of the ability to smell.
While many people retain their sense of smell as they get older, the chances of a smell impairment increase with age, according to a 2002 study of more than 2,400 older adults from Wisconsin, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. As many as two-thirds of men and women between the ages of 80 and 97 were found to have some olfactory (smell) impairment in this population-based study.
Anosmia can occur temporarily as a result of upper-respiratory tract infections, or inflammation of the sinuses. Exposure to tobacco, environmental contaminants, and different medications can all affect your sense of smell.
Smell impairment is considered a major cause of a changing sense of taste in older adults.
Sources:
Claire Murphy, PhD; Carla R. Schubert, MS; Karen J. Cruickshanks, PhD; Barbara E. K. Klein, MD, MPH; Ronald Klein, MD, MPH; David M. Nondahl, MS." Prevalence of Olfactory Impairment in Older Adults." JAMA. 2002;288(18):2307-2312. doi: 10.1001/jama.288.18.2307.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/288/18/2307.full
Smell - Impaired. US National Institutes of Health Medline Public Information Sheet. Accessed May 9, 2013.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003052.htm
Pronunciation: ah-NOZ-mee-ah
previous post