Objective: Validate a digital olfactory assessment for Parkinson’s disease (PD) in Egyptian participants by comparing olfactory performance in PD patients, healthy controls, and those with other neurological conditions.

Background: Olfactory dysfunction often precedes motor symptoms in PD and distinguishes it from other parkinsonian syndromes. Traditional smell tests are costly and time-consuming, limiting clinical use. Digital, self-administered tests provide a scalable, cost-effective alternative. This study validates a novel digital olfactory test in an Egyptian cohort to address this gap.

Method: The study used a digital olfactory tool with 16 odorants in inhaler tubes, each linked to a QR code. Scanning triggered a forced-choice identification task on a mobile device with four descriptors and a “no odor detected” option. The study was conducted in two phases, we first established normative scores from healthy controls (n=124; 40 males, 84 females; ages 55–85, mean 62.2±6.9). Next, olfactory dysfunction was assessed in a small PD cohort (n=11), with stroke patients (n=4) as an additional comparison. Performance, cultural adaptation, and cognitive correlations were analysed. Due to the small PD sample, results are qualitative.

Results: Olfactory scores in healthy controls followed a normal distribution (Shapiro-Wilk p>0.05), ranging from 0 to 16 (mean=8.95, SD=2.9). Garlic (76%) and cinnamon (74%) had the highest identification accuracy, while smoke (26%) and leather (37%) were the lowest. Internal consistency was acceptable (α=0.71), with a 75% test completion rate. PD participants scored lower (0–8, mean=4.0, SD=2.7), while stroke patients scored 5–8 (mean=6.5, SD=1.2). Both participants and providers rated the tool highly for affordability, adaptability, and ease of use.

Conclusion: Preliminary findings indicate that the digital olfactory test has acceptable psychometric properties in healthy controls, while PD patients score significantly lower. Normative reference scores are crucial for detecting olfactory impairment in PD. Future research aims to expand the PD cohort to evaluate test performance in early-stage disease, diverse phenotypes, dementia, and high-risk individuals. Digital olfactory assessment holds promise for PD management, including early screening, clinical trial recruitment, electronic health record integration, and specialist referrals.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/utility-of-digital-olfactory-assessment-sensify-in-parkinsons-disease-preliminary-findings-from-the-ipdgc-africa-in-egypt/