Relationship between olfactory and cognitive function in asthma

Abstract

Poor asthma control or asthma exacerbation can cause hypoxia, which may be associated with cognitive impairment. 1 Caldera-Alvarado G Khan DA Defina LF Pieper A Brown ES Relationship between asthma and cognition: the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. Allergy. 2013; 68: 545-548 Crossref PubMed Scopus (35) Google Scholar ,2 Irani F Barbone JM Beausoleil J Gerald L Is asthma associated with cognitive impairments? A meta-analytic review. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2017; 39: 965-978 Crossref PubMed Scopus (39) Google Scholar Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and allergic rhinitis, typically accompanied by asthma, are the main causes of olfactory dysfunction. 3 Mullol J Mariño-Sánchez F Valls M Alobid I Marin C The sense of smell in chronic rhinosinusitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020; 145: 773-776 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (26) Google Scholar We investigated the association between olfactory 4 Rhyo HI Bae WY Nam YH Association between olfactory function and asthma in adults. J Asthma Allergy. 2021; 14: 309-316 Crossref PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar and cognitive function 5 Rhyou HI Nam YH Association between cognitive function and asthma in adults. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2021; 126: 69-74 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar in patients with asthma and found that a decrease in olfactory and cognitive functions was typically observed among patients with asthma. In addition, an association between olfactory dysfunction and cognitive impairment has been found in recent studies. 6 Dintica CS Marseglia A Rizzuto D et al. Impaired olfaction is associated with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in the brain. Neurology. 2019; 92: e700-e709 Crossref PubMed Scopus (61) Google Scholar ,7 Roberts RO Christianson TJH Kremers WK et al. Association between olfactory dysfunction and amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease dementia. JAMA Neurol. 2016; 73: 93-101 Crossref PubMed Scopus (204) Google Scholar However, no study has evaluated the association between olfactory and cognitive functions in patients with asthma thus far. We hypothesized that olfactory and cognitive functions would be related to each other in patients with asthma, and they also might be associated with asthma control. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate this association in patients with asthma.