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Olfactory dysfunction has been identified as an early warning sign for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia and more. A few occupational and environmental exposures have also been associated with reduced olfactory function, although the effects of long term environmental exposure to lead on olfactory dysfunction have not been explored. Here we performed olfactory recognition testing in elderly men in a community-dwelling cohort and examined the association with cumulative lead exposure, as assessed by lead in tibial and patellar bone.

Olfactory recognition was measured in 165 men from the Normative Aging Study (NAS) who had previously taken part in bone lead measurements using K-X-ray fluorescence (KXRF). Olfactory recognition was measured using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). Associations between olfactory recognition, global …