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Introduction: Access to dental care may affect diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We tested whether the incidence rate of OSCC is higher in regions with less dental care access in the city of Chicago and state of Illinois. Study Design: Ecological cohort. Setting: Population, outpatients, and inpatients. Methods: We extracted 5‐year averages of the state‐wide county‐level and city‐level OSCC incidence rates from 2015 to 2019 from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Dental care access information was also collected for each county for the same period, as well as the percentage of people that had ≥1 visit to a dentist in the previous year in Chicago. Multivariate Poisson regression was used to investigate the relationship between county‐level access to dental care (and city‐level dentist visits) and OSCC incidence rate, controlling for confounders, with additional flexible semiparametric models for confirmatory sensitivity analysis. Results: In Illinois, higher 5‐year incidence rate of OSCC was significantly associated with low access to dental care by county (IRR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.91, 0.98). Southern/southwestern counties had higher incidence rates of OSCC (15.5%–28.4%) and the lowest rates of dental care access (47.5%–69.2%) compared to northern counties (10.3%–15% and 55.4%–80.6%, respectively). In Chicago, people with more dentist visits had a reduced chance of being diagnosed with OSCC (IRR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.91, 0.99), consistent with state‐wide analyses. Conclusion: OSCC incidence rate is closely associated with poor local dental healthcare access in a major state and urban city. Increasing dental access could improve cancer outcomes via improved oral health and earlier detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sensory disability in older adults is associated with increased rates of depressive symptoms and loneliness. Here, we examined the impact of hearing, vision, and olfaction disability on mental health outcomes in older US adults. Methods: We studied respondents from the first three rounds (2005/6, 2010/11, and 2015/16) of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationally representative, longitudinal study of older US adults. Sensory function was assessed by structured interviewer ratings (hearing and vision) and objective assessment (olfaction). Cox proportional hazards models and one degree of freedom tests for trend were utilized to analyze the relationships between sensory disability and self‐rated mental health, frequent depressive symptoms, frequent perceived stress, frequent anxiety symptoms, and frequent loneliness symptoms over time, adjusting for demographics, health behaviors, comorbidities, and cognitive function. Results: We analyzed data from 3940 respondents over 10 years of follow‐up. A greater number of sensory disabilities was associated with greater hazard of low self‐rated mental health, frequent depressive symptoms, frequent perceived stress, and frequent loneliness symptoms over time (p ≤ 0.003, all). After adjusting for covariates, older adults with a greater number of sensory disabilities had greater hazard of low self‐rated mental health (HR = 1.22, CI = [1.08, 1.38], p = 0.002) and loneliness symptoms (HR = 1.13, CI = [1.05, 1.22], p = 0.003) over time in our tests for trend. In our Cox proportional hazards model, older adults with vision disability had greater hazard of low self‐rated mental health (HR = 1.34, 95% CI = [1.05, 1.72], p = 0.02) and loneliness symptoms (HR = 1.21, CI = [1.04, 1.41], p = 0.01). Conclusions: Older US adults with greater numbers of sensory disabilities face worse subsequent mental health. Future longitudinal studies dissecting the relationship of all five classical senses will be helpful in further understanding how improving sensory function might improve mental health in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Sensory health declines with age but remains critical to the navigation and enjoyment of everyday life. Neighborhoods are key sites of environmental exposure, social engagement, and access to resources that can shape sensory health, yet the residential neighborhood is understudied as a determinant of sensory function. Methods We use data from Rounds 1 and 2 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project to examine how subjective and objective measures of older adults' residential areas are associated with sensory health in a series of cross-sectional and multilevel regression models. Results In cross-sectional models, higher levels of perceived neighborhood social ties are associated with significantly better self-rated vision. Older adults who reside in more densely populated tracts are more likely to have significantly worse olfactory identification, whereas residing in tracts with higher levels of concentrated disadvantage is associated with significantly lower levels of self-rated vision. In multilevel models, residing in more densely populated tracts is associated with significantly worse olfactory identification, whereas tract-level concentrated disadvantage is associated with significantly worse hearing and vision. Discussion We propose that neighborhood characteristics could influence certain environmental exposures, the amount of time that older adults spend out of the home, patterns of social engagement, and access to preventative care that collectively affect sensory health. Residential neighborhoods may be important sites of potential intervention to slow age-related sensory declines and other related conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multisensory, physical, and cognitive dysfunction share age-related physiologic disturbances and may have common health effects. We determined whether the effect of multisensory impairment on physical activity (PA) is explained by physical (timed up and go) or cognitive (Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire) dysfunction. A National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project participant subset (n = 507) underwent objective sensory testing in 2005–2006 and wrist accelerometry in 2010–2011. We related multisensory impairment to PA using multivariate mixed-effects linear regression and compared the effect magnitude after adjusting for physical then cognitive dysfunction. Worse multisensory impairment predicted lower PA across three scales (Global Sensory Impairment: β = −0.04, 95% confidence interval [−0.07, −0.02]; Total Sensory Burden: β = −0.01, 95% confidence interval [−0.03, −0.003]; and Number of Impaired Senses: β = −0.02, 95% confidence interval [−0.04, −0.004]). Effects were similar after accounting for physical and cognitive dysfunction. Findings suggest that sensory, physical, and cognitive dysfunction have unique mechanisms underlying their PA effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This novel pilot study constructs a social deprivation index (SDI) and utilizes an area deprivation index (ADI) to evaluate the link between social determinants of health and rhinology patient experiences. Methods: Adult patients undergoing outpatient care of chronic rhinitis and chronic rhinosinusitis at a tertiary academic medical center were recruited to participate in a telephone survey assessing symptoms, social/emotional consequences of disease, and barriers to care on a 5‐point Likert scale. Sociodemographic characteristics were utilized to rate SDI on an 8‐point scale. ADI was obtained by area code of residence. Ordered logistic regression was used to examine associations between the SDI/ADI and perceptions of rhinology care. Results: Fifty patients were included. Individuals with higher SDI scores (i.e., more socially deprived) experienced more severe nasal congestion (p =.007). Furthermore, higher national ADI correlated with increased severity of smell changes (p =.050) and facial pressure (p =.067). No association was seen between either deprivation index and global/psychiatric symptoms. While no correlations were found between higher SDI and difficulties with the costs of prescriptions, rhinologist's visits, or saline, higher SDI was correlated with decreased difficulty with surgery costs (p =.029), and individuals with higher national ADI percentile had increased difficulties obtaining nasal saline (p =.029). Conclusion: Worse social deprivation is associated with difficulties obtaining saline rinses and increased severity of nasal/sinus symptoms in an urban, underserved, majority‐Black population. These findings suggest social factors affect access to and quality of rhinology care in a complex and nuanced way and highlight the need for a specific SDI to further study social determinants of health in rhinology. Level of Evidence: 2c. We construct a social deprivation index and utilize an area deprivation index to study social determinants of health and rhinology patient experiences. Worse social deprivation is associated with difficulties obtaining the most basic of rhinology care—saline rinses, as well as increased severity of nasal/sinus symptoms in an urban, underserved, majority‐Black population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Definitions are essential for effective communication and discourse, particularly in science. They allow the shared understanding of a thought or idea, generalization of knowledge, and comparison across scientific investigation. The current terms describing olfactory dysfunction are vague and overlapping. Summary: As a group of clinical olfactory researchers, we propose the standardization of the terms "dysosmia," "anosmia," "hyposmia," "normosmia," "hyperosmia," "olfactory intolerance," "parosmia," and "phantosmia" (or "olfactory hallucination") in olfaction-related communication, with specific definitions in this text. Key Messages: The words included in this paper were determined as those which are most frequently used in the context of olfactory function and dysfunction, in both clinical and research settings. Despite widespread use in publications, however, there still exists some disagreement in the literature regarding the definitions of terms related to olfaction. Multiple overlapping and imprecise terms that are currently in use are confusing and hinder clarity and universal understanding of these concepts. There is a pressing need to have a unified agreement on the definitions of these olfactory terms by researchers working in the field of chemosensory sciences. With the increased interest in olfaction, precise use of these terms will improve the ability to integrate and advance knowledge in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Poor olfaction is common in older adults and may have profound adverse implications on their health. However, little is known about the potential environmental contributors to poor olfaction. OBJECTIVE: We investigated ambient fine particulate matter [PM ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5)] and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in relation to poor olfaction in middle-aged to older women. METHODS: The Sister Study is a nationwide cohort of 50,884 women in the United States with annual average air pollutant exposures estimated based on participants' residences from enrollment (2003-2009) through 2017. This analysis was limited to 3,345 women, 50-79 years of age as of January 2018, who completed the Brief Smell Identification Test (B-SIT) in 2018-2019. Poor olfaction was defined as a B-SIT score of ≤ 9 in the primary analysis. We conducted multivariable logistic regressions, accounting for covariates and study sampling design. RESULTS: Overall, we found little evidence for associations of air pollutants with poor olfaction. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of poor olfaction for each interquartile range (IQR) increment of air pollutants in 2006 were 1.03 (95% CI: 0.91, 1.17) for PM2.5 (per 3.3 μg/m³) and 1.08 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.22) for NO2 (per 5.7 ppb). Results were similar in the analyses using the most recent (2017) or the cumulative average (2006-2017) air pollutant exposure data. Secondary analyses suggested potential association in certain subgroups. The OR per IQR was 1.35 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.65) for PM2.5 among younger participants (< 54.2 years of age) and 1.87 (95% CI: 1.29, 2.71) for NO2 among current smokers. DISCUSSION: This study did not find convincing evidence that air pollutants have lasting detrimental effects on the sense of smell of women 50-79 years of age. The subgroup analyses are exploratory, and the findings need independent confirmation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]