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Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on January 22, 2007
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kql156
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Short Report

Sense of smell in workers exposed to agricultural odours

V Gudziol1, D Mackuth1, B Hauswald1, J Knothe1, K Scheuch2, T Zahnert1 and T Hummel1

1 Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany
2 Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany

Aim To investigate the effect of occupational exposure to agricultural odours on sense of smell.

Methods Olfaction was investigated in 60 employees of dairy and pig-breeding farms and compared to 60 non-farm controls living in the same rural area. Both groups were matched for age, sex and smoking habits. All participants underwent standardized, validated tests for olfactory function and were tested before and after the first day of a working cycle. In addition, farm subjects were also tested in the evening of Day 5 of this period.

Results There was no difference in overall olfactory function between the two groups. Olfactory function was not related to duration of exposure to the odorous environment.

Conclusion These results suggest that occupational exposure to strong agricultural odours has no major impact on the sense of smell.

Keywords      Environment; nose; odour; smell

Correspondence to: Thomas Hummel, Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany. Tel: +49 351 458 4189; fax: +49 351 458 4326; e-mail: thummel{at}mail.zih.tu-dresden.de


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