2025 Volume 19 Issue 1 Pages 31-39
The purpose of this study was to compare olfactory and daily living functions in older adults with dementia admitted to a psychiatric hospital and identify characteristics by severity. Olfactory function（OE）, grip strength, walking speed, dementia severity, cognitive function, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia（BPSD）, activities of daily living（ADL）, and instrumental ADL（IADL）were assessed. Participants were divided into a mild group（10 patients）and a moderate/severe group（14 patients）. The results showed that the moderate-severe group had significantly lower percentages of correct responses to OE and subtests（menthol and curry）, cognitive function, and IADL than the mild group, and significantly higher BPSD than the mild group. The discrepancy between correct and subjective response rates in OE subitems was twice as large in the mild group and 3.6 times larger in the moderate/severe group, reflecting severity progression. These results suggest that the decline in olfactory function and the increasing discrepancy between correct answers and subjective awareness may negatively impact cognitive and daily living functions as dementia severity increases.
