Olfactory Sensitivity in Humans: Genetic Versus Environmental Control

9 May 1980

journal article
other
Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science

Vol. 208 (4444) , 607-609
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7189296

Abstract

Olfactory sensitivity to acetic acid, isobutyric acid, and 2-sec-butyl-cyclohexanone was tested in 97 adult male twin pairs to determine the extent to which variation in odor perception was genetically determined. Analysis of the data revealed no evidence for heritability of olfactory sensitivity. However, factors significantly associated with odor perception included cigar, pipe, and cigarette smoking; body fatness; alcohol consumption; and diabetes mellitus.

Keywords

This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:

THE NHLBI TWIN STUDY OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS: METHODOLOGY AND SUMMARY OF RESULTS
American Journal of Epidemiology, 1977
CONTRIBUTION OF THE TRIGEMINAL NERVE TO PERCEIVED ODOR MAGNITUDE*
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1974
Odour-Blindness to Musk: Simple Recessive Inheritance
Nature, 1973
The estimation of genetic variance from twin data
Behavior Genetics, 1970
Specific Anosmia: a Clue to the Olfactory Code
Nature, 1967
Studies on the Sense of Smell and Taste in Diabetics
Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 1961
THE INCIDENCE AND PROBABLE INHERITANCE OF “SMELL BLINDNESSrdquo;
Journal of Heredity, 1948
Hereditary Deficiencies in the Sense of Smell
Science, 1918