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. 2022 Oct 21;7(6):1688-1694.
doi: 10.1002/lio2.911. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Patient factors associated with COVID-19 loss of taste or smell patient factors in smell/taste loss COVID-19

B Jake Johnson  1 , Bradley Salonen  2 , Thomas Jamie O'Byrne  3 , Garret Choby  1 , Ravindra Ganesh  2 , Janalee K Stokken  1 , Erin K O'Brien  1
Affiliations

Patient factors associated with COVID-19 loss of taste or smell patient factors in smell/taste loss COVID-19

B Jake Johnson et al. Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. .

Abstract

Objectives: Dysfunction in smell or taste is well recognized phenomenon in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to quantify the incidence and associated co-morbidities of reported olfactory or gustatory dysfunction in patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: From March 23, 2020 through July 31, 2020, 192,683 patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 at Mayo Clinic. These patients with a positive test were contacted via telephone by physicians at Mayo Clinic and information gathered on patient demographics, comorbidities, symptoms and clinical risk stratification based on these factors.

Results: Two thousand two hundred and fifty patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (1.2%). Six hundred and sixty-seven (29.6%) of these patients reported loss of smell or taste. Factors found to be correlated with reporting loss of smell or taste on multivariate analysis were: younger age, female sex, or symptoms of chest pain or tightness, cough, or headache and lower clinical risk category. Coronary artery disease (CAD) was associated with not reporting loss of taste or smell.

Conclusion: Of 2250 patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 at Mayo Clinic, 667 reported loss of taste and smell. Patients who reported loss of smell or taste were younger, female and more likely to report cough, chest pain, headache, or history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but overall had fewer high-risk comorbidities. Those who were older, male, and a reported history of CAD were less likely to report chemosensory dysfunction. Our data are the largest single institution data reporting COVID-19 associated loss of smell or taste, and the first to associate COPD and CAD as factors that affect rates of reported chemosensory dysfunction.

Level of evidence: IIB.

Keywords: ACE2; COVID‐19; SARS‐CoV‐2; smell; taste.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest for any of the authors.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Graph depicting odds ratios of reporting loss of taste or smell by clinical factor
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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