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. 2023 Jun 12:16:2393-2403.
doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S408706. eCollection 2023.

Transient Anosmia and Dysgeusia in COVID-19 Disease: A Cross Sectional Study

Fatema Ahmed Ali  1 , Ghufran Jassim  2 , Zahra Khalaf  3 , Manaf Yusuf  4 , Sara Ali  5 , Nada Husain  6 , Fatema Ebrahim  6
Affiliations

Transient Anosmia and Dysgeusia in COVID-19 Disease: A Cross Sectional Study

Fatema Ahmed Ali et al. Int J Gen Med. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explore the prevalence of anosmia and dysgeusia and their impact on COVID-19 patients.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between 1st October 2020 and 30th June 2021 were randomly selected from a national COVID-19 registry. COVID-19 cases were diagnosed using molecular testing method which measured the viral E gene. The Anosmia Reporting Tool, and a brief version of the questionnaire on olfactory disorders were used to measure the outcomes via telephone interviews. Data were analysed using SPSS 27 statistics software.

Results: A total of 405 COVID-19 adults were included in this study, 220 (54.3%) were males and 185 (45.8%) were females. The mean±SD age of participants was 38.2 ± 11.3 years. Alterations in the sense of smell and taste were reported by 206 (50.9%), and 195 (48.1%) of the patients, respectively. Sex and nationality of participants were significantly associated with anosmia and dysgeusia (p < 0.001) and (p-value=0.001) respectively. Among patients who experienced anosmia and dysgeusia, alterations in eating habits (64.2%), impact on mental wellbeing (38.9%), concerns that the alterations were permanent (35.4%), and physical implications and difficulty performing activities of daily living (34%) were reported.

Conclusion: Anosmia and dysgeusia are prevalent symptoms of COVID-19 disease, especially among females. Although transient, anosmia and dysgeusia had considerable impact on patient's life. Neuropsychological implications of COVID-19 in acute infection phase and prognosis of anosmia and dysgeusia in COVID-19 are areas for further exploration.

Keywords: COVID-19; anosmia; dysgeusia; quality of life; smell; taste.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this work.

Figures

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Figure 1
Flow chart of patient recruitment.
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