Biomedical subjects

Steven Nordin

Publications and source records attributed to Steven Nordin.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Substance and tongue-region specific loss in basic taste-quality identification in elderly adults.

Physiological anorexia, decreased dietary variation, and weight loss associated with poor health are common conditions in the elderly population, with changes in chemosensory perception as important contributing causes. The present study of age-related taste loss aimed to investigate the question whether this loss is generalised and unspecific, or whether it exhibits differences in relation to certain tastants and/or differences in the topographical distribution of age-related loss. Impregnated "taste strips" with four concentrations of each of the tastants sucrose, NaCl, quinine-hydrochloride, and citric acid were applied on the tip, midlateral and posteromedial tongue regions to be identified as either sweet, salty, bitter, or sour by 30 young and 26 elderly adults. The results showed more pronounced age-related loss in identification for citric acid and quinine-hydrochloride than for sucrose and NaCl at both the tip and midlateral regions, but not at the posteromedial region where both age groups performed close to chance level. These findings may have implications for food preferences, and thus, the diets of elderly people.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Laterality of the olfactory event-related potential response.

In experimental practice, odors are commonly applied to only one nostril for recordings of olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs), but the lateralization aspect of the OERP response is unclear regarding both stimulated nostril and cortical topography. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether stimulated-nostril side affects OERP amplitudes and latencies and whether these potentials indicate lateralization of brain response in healthy, right-handed, young adults. OERPs were recorded from nine electrode sites in response to monorhinal stimulation with amyl acetate in 28 participants. The results showed a general increase in amplitude from frontal to parietal electrode sites (in particular for N1/P3) and generally larger amplitudes on the left hemisphere and midline than on the right hemisphere. There was no main effect of stimulated-nostril side on amplitude. Interactions indicated that N1/P2 amplitude was larger for left- than right-nostril stimulation and larger on the left hemisphere and midline than on the right hemisphere in left-nostril stimulation. No main effect or interactions of stimulated-nostril side over latencies were found and no effects on latencies of sagittal or coronal sites. These findings suggest a general parietal, left-hemisphere predominance in response amplitude to odorous stimulation and imply that either the left or the right nostril may be sufficient for accurate assessment of OERP latency in right-handed, young adults.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

When and why do experts perform exposure measurements? An exploratory study of safety engineers, work environment inspectors, and occupational hygienists.

The aim of this study was to describe experts' decision processes leading to measurements of occupational chemical exposure. Safety engineers, clinical occupational hygienists, and work environment inspectors (four from each group) were interviewed according to a semistructured scheme. We analyzed: (i) perceived triggers for measurements, (ii) the experts' decision criteria for performing measurements when there was a trigger, and (iii) sampling strategy. Regarding triggers, all safety engineers reported a "request" from, for example, an employer; all work environment inspectors reported "legal demands;" and all clinical occupational hygienists reported "symptoms among workers." As a decision criterion, all the interviewees reported that they measured only if they expected sufficiently high levels. The results of the present study highlight factors that trigger measurements and are of importance in determining whether measurements will be performed. These factors appear to be related to the expert's professional role and may bias the assessment of exposure. Thus, when using data from routine measurements done by experts, the possibility of a bias needs to be considered.

Decision Making↗

PubMed2006

Relationship between self-reported odor intolerance and sensitivity to inhaled capsaicin: proposed definition of airway sensory hyperreactivity and estimation of its prevalence.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the behavioral consequences of self-reported odor sensitivity with the chemical sensitivity scale for sensory hyperreactivity (CSS-SHR) and cough sensitivity to inhaled capsaicin. We also wanted to estimate the prevalence of airway sensory hyperreactivity (SHR), which was defined as a positive CSS-SHR score in combination with a positive capsaicin inhalation test result. DESIGN: A general population-based study with randomly selected individuals after stratification for age and gender. SETTING: Skövde Central Hospital, Departments of Lung Medicine and Otorhinolaryngology, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 693 randomly selected individuals from a population-based study in which 595 persons (86%) responded to the CSS-SHR questionnaire. INTERVENTIONS: The individuals were divided into four groups with different odor sensitivity according to their CSS-SHR score. Of these, 137 individuals were randomly recruited for the capsaicin inhalation test. Capsaicin inhalation was performed with concentrations of 0.4 and 2.0 mumol/L in a randomized order. The number of coughs were registered and counted for 10 min from the start of each inhalation. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Of the 137 individuals who were recruited for the capsaicin inhalation test, 103 (75%) participated. Sixteen individuals had increased cough sensitivity and fulfilled the criteria for a positive capsaicin inhalation test result. Of the individuals with a positive capsaicin inhalation test result, > 80% also had a positive CSS-SHR score. Only 5% of the individuals with a negative CSS-SHR score had a positive capsaicin inhalation test result. The order of inhaled capsaicin concentration was found to influence the results. The prevalence of SHR with the definition given above was estimated to be 6.3% in this general population. CONCLUSIONS: A high CSS-SHR score was found to be directly related to the sensitivity for inhaled capsaicin, which made it possible to relate subjective data to objective findings.

Administration, Inhalation↗

PubMed2005

Olfactory and chemosomatosensory function in pregnant women assessed with event-related potentials.

The purpose of the study was to better understand past findings of nasal chemosensory hypersensitivity in pregnant women by recording chemosensory event-related potentials (CSERPs) for information about cortical neuronal allocation (amplitudes) and temporal processing (latencies) of three concentrations of pyridine ranging from predominantly olfactory to trigeminal in activation in 15 pregnant and 15 non-pregnant women. CSERP components of primarily sensory (N1 and P2) and cognitive (P3) origin were evaluated. The results displayed no group differences in either N1 or P2 amplitudes or latencies, but tendencies of larger amplitudes and shorter latencies for P3 in pregnant women. This implies that pregnant women's hypersensitivity may more likely be referred to cognitive than sensory processing.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Chemosensory perception and event-related potentials in self-reported chemical hypersensitivity.

Anormal chemosensory perception has been identified as a possible mechanism underlying odor intolerance, but research in this domain has yet been rather limited. The main objective of the present study was to investigate total perceived intensity, unpleasantness, sensory irritation, and cortical activity assessed with chemosensory event-related potentials (ERPs) for three concentrations of pyridine ranging from predominantly olfactory to trigeminal in activation. Results from 19 individuals with self-reported chemical hypersensitivity and 19 controls with self-reported normal chemical sensitivity show that the hypersensitive group, compared to controls, rated the pyridine stimuli to be more intense and unpleasant, and that these group differences increased with pyridine concentration. Sensory irritation was also the perceptual dimension found to correlate strongest with score on the chemical sensitivity scale. However, no group differences were found in ERP amplitudes or latencies. These findings suggest that self-reported chemical hypersensitivity (1) can be associated with anormal chemosensory perception, (2) may be more closely related to trigeminal function than to olfaction, and (3) has a neural basis at a higher cortical level than that captured by chemosensory ERPs.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Olfactory disorders and their consequences for quality of life.

Olfactory disorders are common in the general population, but research into the consequences of these disorders has been lacking. Not until recently, when specific tools for assessing changes in quality of life due to olfactory disorders have become available, have systematic investigations been conducted. In this article we present the most important roles that olfaction plays in humans and review the scientific literature on the consequences of olfactory disorders. This review suggests that quality of life, regarding safety issues and interpersonal relations, as well as eating habits and nutritional intake are severely altered in a large proportion of patients with olfactory disorders.

Environment↗

PubMed2004

Environmental odor intolerance in pregnant women.

Previous findings indicating that pregnant women experience a shift in odor sensitivity and hedonics raise the question of whether these changes evoke adverse reactions to odorous and pungent environmental substances in daily activities, to a larger extent in pregnant than in nonpregnant women. Forty-four women in pregnancy weeks 21-23 and 44 nonpregnant women were therefore compared with respect to affective reactions to and behavioral disruptions by odorous/pungent daily environments by means of the questionnaire-based, 21-item Chemical Sensitivity Scale (CSS). This scale refers to neurasthenic and sensory/somatic symptoms and includes the 11 items of the Chemical Sensitivity Scale for Sensory Hyperreactivity (CSS-SHR). This latter scale refers predominantly to sensory/somatic symptoms. To investigate whether there is a general environmental hypersensitivity during pregnancy, the Noise Sensitivity Scale (NSS) was used that is analogous to the CSS (including 11 NSS items corresponding to those of the CSS-SHR; "NSS-SHR"). Results show that the two groups were similar with respect to scores on both the CSS and NSS, whereas the pregnant women had higher scores than the nonpregnant women on the CSS-SHR, but not on the "NSS-SHR". These results suggest that pregnant women to a larger extent than nonpregnant women manifest an odor intolerance that affects their daily activities, with predominantly sensory/somatic symptoms, which appears not to be due to a general environmental hypersensitivity. This behavior may have embryo- and maternal-protective functions.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A short Chemical Sensitivity Scale for assessment of airway sensory hyperreactivity.

OBJECTIVES: A short version of the 21-item Chemical Sensitivity Scale (CSS), called the Chemical Sensitivity Scale for Sensory Hyperreactivity (CSS-SHR), was developed and evaluated for the quantifying of self-reported affective reactions to and behavioral disruptions in daily activities by odorous/pungent substances among patients with sensory hyperreactivity (SHR) for clinical and epidemiological studies. METHODS: Twenty-two patients with clinically diagnosed SHR and 124 control participants responded to the CSS and to additional questions about chemical sensitivity for the evaluation of the CSS-SHR. RESULTS: Eleven of the 21 items of the CSS were selected, on statistical grounds, to constitute the CSS-SHR, which was found to generate approximately normal distributions, have good test-retest reliability (r(xy)=0.87), satisfying internal consistency (r(alpha)=0.76-0.84) and predictive and concurrent validity, and to be uni-dimensional. The metric properties of the CSS-SHR were, despite its few items, comparable with those of the CSS. A proposed diagnostic cut-off score for SHR demonstrated a high correct classification rate (92%) for the CSS-SHR. CONCLUSIONS: The favorable metric properties of the CSS-SHR and its sensitivity/specificity suggests that it is useful for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological study of sensory hyperreactivity in combination with other diagnostic tools.

Bronchial Hyperreactivity↗

PubMed2004

Prevalence of self-reported poor odor detection sensitivity: the Skövde population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To enable adequate planning of ENT healthcare it is important to know the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in the general population. Whether an individual will actually seek medical attention for olfactory dysfunction is likely to depend predominantly on his/her self-evaluation of the sense of smell. This motivated an investigation of the prevalences of self-reported poorer- and better-than-normal odor detection sensitivity in the general population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A random sample of 1900 adult inhabitants, stratified for age and gender, was drawn from the municipal population register of Skövde, Sweden. Subjects were asked to attend a structured interview concerning their self-evaluation of their odor detection sensitivity. RESULTS: In total, 1387 volunteers (73% of the sample) were investigated. The overall prevalences of self-reported poorer- and better-than normal odor detection sensitivity were 15.3% and 17.4%, respectively. The prevalence of poorer sensitivity was found to increase with age, and the prevalence of better sensitivity was lower in men than women. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the fairly high participation rate in this study and the fact that the population of Skövde is representative of the general Swedish population, the obtained prevalences can be considered representative of the general Swedish adult population.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A longitudinal descriptive study of self-reported abnormal smell and taste perception in pregnant women.

Self-reported abnormal sensitivity, qualitative distortions and phantom sensations with respect to smell and taste was assessed with a longitudinal design, based on questions referring to gestational weeks 13-16 and 31-34 of pregnancy in comparison with 9-12 weeks post partum and with non-pregnant women with corresponding time durations and intervals. The results show that abnormal smell and/or taste perception was reported by 76% of the pregnant women, typically believed to be caused by their pregnancy. Increased smell sensitivity was found to be very common at the early stage of pregnancy (67% of all pregnant respondents) and occasionally accompanied by qualitative smell distortions (17%) and phantom smells (14%). The smell abnormalities were less common at the late pregnancy stage and almost absent post partum. Abnormal taste sensitivity was fairly commonly reported (26%), often described as increased bitter sensitivity and decreased salt sensitivity. These results, suggesting that abnormal smell and/or taste perception is experienced by a large majority of pregnant women, imply that further research is needed to understand to what extent these chemosensory changes may underlie food aversions and craving with implications for food intake during pregnancy.

Diet↗

PubMed2004

Demographic and cognitive predictors of cued odor identification: evidence from a population-based study.

This study investigated demographic and cognitive correlates of cued odor identification in a population-based sample from the Betula project: 1906 healthy adults varying in age from 45 to 90 years were assessed in a number of tasks tapping various cognitive domains, including cognitive speed, semantic memory and executive functioning. The results revealed a gradual and linear deterioration in cued odor identification across the adult life span. Overall, females identified more odors than men, although men and women performed at the same level in the oldest age cohort (85-90 years). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that age, sex, education, cognitive speed and vocabulary were reliable correlates of performance in the odor identification task. In addition, age-related deficits in the included demographic and cognitive variables could not fully account for the observed age-related impairment in identification, suggesting that additional factors are underlying the observed deterioration. Likely candidates here are sensory abilities such as olfactory detection and discrimination.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Gender differences in chemosensory perception and event-related potentials.

The present study investigated chemosensory gender differences by means of ratings of total nasal chemosensory intensity, unpleasantness and sensory irritation and simultaneous recordings of chemosensory event-related potentials (CSERPs) for three concentrations of the olfactory/trigeminal stimulus pyridine in 19 women and 17 men, all young adults. Results show that, compared to men, women gave higher intensity and unpleasantness ratings, in particular for the highest stimulus concentration. The gender differences in perceived intensity are reflected in the signal-to-noise ratio of the individual CSERP averages, revealing more identifiable early components (P1, N1) in women than in men. The late positive component, labeled P2/P3, displayed larger amplitudes at all electrode sites and shorter latencies at Cz, in women compared to men. The effects of increased pyridine concentration on perception (larger in women) and CSERPs (similar across gender) imply that the two measures involve partially different neural processing. CSERP component identifiability is proposed here as a general means of assessing signal-to-noise ratio of the CSERPs.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Prevalence of olfactory dysfunction: the skövde population-based study.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Patients with olfactory dysfunction appear repeatedly in ear, nose, and throat practices, but the prevalence of such problems in the general adult population is not known. Therefore, the objectives were to investigate the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in an adult Swedish population and to relate dysfunction to age, gender, diabetes mellitus, nasal polyps, and smoking habits. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional, population-based epidemiological study. METHODS: A random sample of 1900 adult inhabitants, who were stratified for age and gender, was drawn from the municipal population register of Skövde, Sweden. Subjects were called to clinical visits that included questions about olfaction, diabetes, and smoking habits. Examination was performed with a smell identification test and nasal endoscopy. RESULTS: In all, 1387 volunteers (73% of the sample) were investigated. The overall prevalence of olfactory dysfunction was 19.1%, composed of 13.3% with hyposmia and 5.8% with anosmia. A logistic regression analysis showed a significant relationship between impaired olfaction and aging, male gender, and nasal polyps, but not diabetes or smoking. In an analysis of a group composed entirely of individuals with anosmia, diabetes mellitus and nasal polyps were found to be risk factors, and gender and smoking were not. CONCLUSION: The sample size of the population-based study was adequate, with a good fit to the entire population, which suggests that it was representative for the Swedish population. Prevalence data for various types of olfactory dysfunction could be given with reasonable precision, and suggested risk factors analyzed. The lack of a statistically significant relationship between olfactory dysfunction and smoking may be controversial.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Consequences of olfactory loss and adopted coping strategies.

UNLABELLED: The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of loss of smell as regards the quality of life and the coping strategies used. METHODS: Seventy-two patients with anosmia (46%) or hyposmia (54%) filled in the validated Multi-Clinic Smell and Taste Questionnaire, the validated General Well-being Schedule (GWBS), and answered other questions shown to be of good validity. RESULTS: Several kinds of negative effects, risks associated with the loss, interference with daily routines and deteriorations in well-being were common. Physical health, financial security, profession, partnership, friendship, emotional stability and leisure were also deemed to be negatively affected and GWBS scores show compromised psychological well-being. The importance of olfaction seemed to be more noticeable after the loss of smell, and several kinds of problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies were adopted by these patients. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the loss of smell had substantial adverse effects on the quality of life and that high priority should be given to its diagnosis and treatment and to further research in this field. Furthermore, a combination of problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies may be suggested to patients who have recently lost the sense of smell.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Circadian rhythm and desensitization in chemosensory event-related potentials in response to odorous and painful stimuli.

Olfactory (H2S) and trigeminal (CO2) event-related potentials (ERPs) were studied with respect to circadian rhythm and desensitization. ERPs, perceived odor and pain intensity, oral temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, nasal volume, and sleepiness were assessed four times at 04:00, 08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00, and 24:00 hr in five young men. For each of these 24 sessions per participant, H2S and CO2 were each presented in 15 series of five stimuli with a 5-s ISI within and 30-s ISI between series. ERP amplitudes, but not latencies, followed a circadian rhythm (largest at 16:00 and smallest at 04:00) similar to oral temperature and opposite to sleepiness. Amplitudes decreased (most pronounced at 16:00 and 20:00) and latencies increased with repeated stimulation, suggesting desensitization, in accordance with odor and pain intensity. These findings imply that circadian rhythm and desensitization should be considered in chemosensory ERP studies.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Age-associated increases in intensity discrimination for taste.

Impaired taste sensation in the aging person may affect the appreciation of food and beverages and compromise nutritional status. Changes in flavor perception may be due to altered ability to discriminate between intensities of suprathreshold taste stimuli. An interesting question is whether all taste qualities (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) show similar age-associated decline in intensity discrimination. Taste intensity discrimination has been shown to be significantly poorer in elderly than in young women for the bitter stimulus caffeine, but not for the sweet stimulus sucrose. The present experiment investigated effects of taste substance and age on taste intensity discrimination by assessing Weber ratios (WRs) for citric acid and sodium chloride (NaCl) in 60 people, half elderly, and half women. Results indicate a significant effect of age on WRs for citric acid and NaCl, suggesting the importance of suprathreshold intensity discrimination for taste perception in the elderly.

Adult↗