Modification of the Sniffin Kids Test for olfactory testing in a population of Polish children.

Background: Smell tests in children need to be standardized and validated, include odors familiar to children, and be defined by age-dependent standards. This study aimed to adapt the Sniffin Kids Test (SKT) for Polish children and conduct validation and evaluation of the Sniffin Kids Poland Test (SKPOL).

Methodology: The study included 382 children (4-14 years old) recruited in Poland, who were allocated into healthy (n=343) and sick (with subjective olfactory disorders, n=39), divided into 3 age subgroups, but also 13 anosmic children with Kallmann syndrome (KS) and olfactory bulb aplasia. Firstly, the smell testing was performed in 382 children using SKT, and subsequently, SKPOL was created using odors identified by at least 75% of healthy individuals. The 10th percentile of SKPOL results in healthy children was adopted as a cutoff point between norm and pathology. SKPOL validation and reliability were assessed using the KS group results.

Results: Odor identification score in SKT of Polish children in healthy 6-14-year-olds did not meet the criteria for a test adapted for population studies. An odor identification rate was obtained for 5 odors in 4-7 years old, 7 odors in 8-10 years old, and 9 odors in 11-14 years old. SKPOL was created using these odors. Age-dependent norms for SKPOL were ≥4, ≥5, and ≥7, respectively. All KS children had SKPOL results below the 10th percentile.

Conclusions: Validation and evaluation of SKPOL confirmed good adaptation and high reproducibility of the test for Polish children aged 4-14 years.