Home › Research › Getting a diagnosis
Association of olfactory dysfunction with risk for future Parkinson's disease
Ross GW, Petrovitch H, Abbott RD, Tanner CM, Popper J, Masaki K, Launer L, White LR.. Annals of neurology, 2008-02-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Objective Although olfactory dysfunction is commonly associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), it is not known whether such dysfunction can predate the onset of clinical PD in a community-based population. This study examines the association of olfactory dysfunction with future development of PD in Honolulu-Asia Aging Study cohort members Methods Olfaction was assessed from 1991 to 1996 in 2,267 men in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study aged 71 to 95 years who were free of clinical PD and dementia at the time of olfaction testing. Participants were followed for up to 8 years for incident PD RESULTS: In the course of follow-up, 35 men were diagnosed with PD (24.6/10,000 person-years). The average age at the time of diagnosis was 82.9 +/- 3.8 (range, 76-93) years, and the average time to a diagnosis was 4.0 +/- 1.9 (range, 1-8) years. During the first 4 years of follow-up, age-adjusted incidence of PD declined from 54.5/10,000 person-years in the lowest quartile of odor identification to 26.6, 8.2, and 8.4/10,000 person-years in the second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively (p Interpretation Impaired olfaction can predate clinical PD in men by at least 4 years and may be a useful screening tool to detect those at high risk for development of PD in later life.
Key findings
- Objective Although olfactory dysfunction is commonly associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), it is not known whether such dysfunction can predate the onset of clinical PD in a community-based population.
- Participants were followed for up to 8 years for incident PD RESULTS: In the course of follow-up, 35 men were diagnosed with PD (24.6/10,000 person-years).
Why it matters
This study found that impaired olfaction can predate clinical Parkinson's disease in men by at least 4 years and may help screen for those at high risk. It concerns Parkinson's disease, not Alzheimer's disease, and reports no treatment, cure, or prevention.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Getting a diagnosis →
Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Annals of Neurology: journal h-index 437 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 744 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 37.2 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 20.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 85 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Lon R. White: h-index 94 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18067173) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ross, G. W., Petrovitch, H., Abbott, R. D., Tanner, C. M., Popper, J., Masaki, K., et al. (2008). Association of olfactory dysfunction with risk for future Parkinson's disease. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.21291
Vancouver
Ross GW, Petrovitch H, Abbott RD, Tanner CM, Popper J, Masaki K, et al. Association of olfactory dysfunction with risk for future Parkinson's disease. Annals of neurology. 2008. doi:10.1002/ana.21291. PMID: 18067173.
BibTeX
@article{ross2008-18067173,
author = {Ross, G. W. and Petrovitch, H. and Abbott, R. D. and Tanner, C. M. and Popper, J. and Masaki, K. and Launer, L. and White, L. R.},
title = {{Association of olfactory dysfunction with risk for future Parkinson's disease}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1002/ana.21291},
pmid = {18067173},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.21291}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
7 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Getting a diagnosis
Also tagged “bodies”
1,017 studies in the library carry the topic tag “bodies”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,017 tagged studies.