4.3 Interpretation
A retrospective study by Santos et al. (2004) reported that there was an positive trend in number of hazardous events and degree of olfactory impairment. Within the completely anosmic group, 45.2% reported they experienced a hazardous event during their lifetime, in contrast to 19% in the normosmic group . Of the hazardous events, cooking-related hazard (e.g. burning pots and pans) was experienced by 45%, and gas leak was experienced by 23%. Another retrospective study echoed these findings, reporting burning pots and pans was the most common form of hazardous event experienced by <25%, and only <10% experienced an unnoticed gas leak. Our findings report 14.8% had at least one gas incident, and 34.5% had at least one gas scare the past 5 years. While direct comparison is challenging due to differences in hazard definition, our findings highlight a similarly substantial percentage of individuals affected. Considering our survey specifically captured hazardous events the past 5 years, the proportion of individuals who experienced at least one hazardous event during their lifetime is expected to be higher.
Another important finding in our survey is the impact of olfactory disturbance on a person’s quality of life, not just limited to physical safety and hygiene, but also their emotional well-being as a consequence of living in fear. Studies that performed thematic analyses identified olfactory disturbance to impact different aspects of life, including the detection of hazards, the feeling of social isolation, negative emotions including depression, and physical health . Our findings echo the results of Keller and Malaspina’s online survey of 1000 patients with olfactory dysfunction, where 72% were concerned about hazard avoidance and the lack of food enjoyment . Miwa et al. highlighted that 75% of participants were concerned about spoiled food and 61% were concerned about the failure to detect fire, gas or smoke . These themes were concordant with other surveys’ results . In our survey, a recurring method to mitigate adverse events was having another person present in the house or workplace to help alert the respondent of danger. However, this mitigation is of no help to people who live alone. According to Office of National Statistics data, around 30.1% over the age of 65 in the UK live alone .