Long-term Use of Aspirin or Ibuprofen May Impact Olfaction among Elderly

In a recent study from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Sister Study, highlighted potential associations between long-term use of aspirin or ibuprofen and poor olfaction in older women who had not used other types of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) regularly.

The study, which involved 4,020 participants aged 50 to 79 years in 2018, selected from a pool of 36,492 eligible participants, focused on self-reported olfaction status. Of these, 3,406 women underwent the 12-item Brief Smell Identification Test to assess their olfactory function. Poor olfaction was defined as a test score of nine or less in the primary analysis.

The overall findings revealed no significant association between NSAID use and poor olfaction. However, researchers observed potential interactions that warranted further investigation. Specifically, the odds of poor olfaction were 1.8 times higher (95% CI: 1.1, 3.2) among women who regularly used aspirin but did not use other non-aspirin NSAIDs, compared to those who never used aspirin. Conversely, women who regularly used non-aspirin NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, showed a lower odds ratio of 0.8 (95% CI: 0.5, 1.2) for poor olfaction. These interactions were statistically significant (P for interaction = 0.016 for aspirin, P for interaction = 0.010 for ibuprofen).