Failing sense of smell strong predictor of death

A declining sense of smell in older people is a strong predictor of death within just five years, according to research published on Wednesday.

Thirty-nine percent of study subjects who failed a simple smelling test died during that period, compared with 19 percent of those with moderate smell loss and just 10 percent of those with a healthy sense of smell, the journal PLOS ONE reported.

The hazards of smell loss were "strikingly robust," according to researchers, who said that olfactory dysfunction was better at predicting mortality than a diagnosis of heart failure, cancer or lung disease.