The Clinical neuropsychologist
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Olfactory dysfunction is a very early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and olfactory dysfunction has also been found in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The goal of the present study was to compare odor identification ability and self-reported olfactory functioning in patients with different types of MCI. We included 104 elderly participants classified into two groups: patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and elderly controls (EC). ⋯ Correlational analyses indicated that odor identification ability was related to cognition whereas no relationship was found for self-reported olfactory functioning. The present study showed that amnestic MCI patients with additional deficits in other cognitive domains have a specific odor identification impairment. Together with cognitive testing, olfactory testing may more accurately help predict whether or not a patient with MCI will convert to AD in the near future.