METHODS: Data from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) was analyzed for adults above age 40 with 3669 participants with taste and 3691 participants with smell disorders. Smoking status, based upon the history of smoking in the past 5 days was classified as ‘No tobacco smoking’, ‘E-cigs’, ‘Cigarettes’, and ‘Cigar/Hookah/Pipe’ and ‘Smokeless tobacco’. The outcome measure was having taste disorder or smell disorder determined by answering ‘yes’ to self-reported taste or smell questionnaires respectively. This information was collected by trained interviewers using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) system. Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done with SAS 9.4 using survey weights to account for the complex sampling design. Odds ratios (OR) for taste or smell disorder to those without the respective disorder were compared within different smoking categories.
RESULTS: Individuals with taste disorders were more likely to be Mexican American, 40-49.5 yrs., with a history of persistent cold/flu, dry mouth, or cancer. Both smokeless tobacco (OR =2.59) and E-cig (OR =2.30) users showed significantly higher odds of having taste disorders compared to non-smokers. Participants with smell disorder were more likely to be female, non-Hispanic black/other Hispanics with a history of dry mouth, tonsillectomy, head injury, or sinus infections. For smell disorders, Cigar/Hookah/Pipes showed significantly higher odds compared to non-smokers (OR = 2.13).
CONCLUSION: This cross-sectional study suggests that E-cigs use is significantly associated with taste disorders, whereas Cigar/Hookah/Pipe use is found to be significantly associated with higher odds of having smell disorders.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/42949 |
| Date | 26 August 2021 |
| Creators | Kaur, Manjinder |
| Contributors | Kaye, Elizabeth E.K. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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