The Adaptive Olfactory Measure of Threshold (ArOMa-T): A rapid test of olfactory function

Many widely-used psychophysical olfactory tests have limitations that can create barriers to adoption outside research settings. For example, tests that measure the ability to identify odors may confound sensory performance with memory recall, verbal ability, and past experience with the odor. Conversely, typical threshold-based tests avoid these issues, but are labor intensive. Additionally, many commercially-available olfactory tests are slow and may require a trained administrator, making them impractical for use in a short wellness visit or other broad clinical assessment. We tested the performance of the Adaptive Olfactory Measure of Threshold (ArOMa-T) – a novel odor detection threshold test that employs an adaptive Bayesian algorithm paired with a disposable odorant – delivery card – in a non-clinical sample of individuals (n=534) at the 2021 Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, OH. Participants successfully completed the test in under 3 min with a false alarm rate of 9.6% and a test-retest reliability of 0.61. Odor detection thresholds differed by sex (~3.2-fold lower for females) and age (~8.7-fold lower for the youngest versus the oldest age group), consistent with prior studies. In an exploratory analysis, we failed to observe evidence of detection threshold differences between participants who reported a history of COVID-19 and matched controls who did not. We also found evidence for broad-sense heritability of odor detection thresholds. Together, these data indicate the ArOMa-T can determine odor detection thresholds. The ArOMa-T may be particularly valuable in clinical or field settings where rapid and portable assessment of olfactory function is needed.