TitleMore than smell - COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsParma V, Ohla K, Veldhuizen MG, Niv MY, Kelly CE, Bakke AJ, Cooper KW, Bouysset C, Pirastu N, Dibattista M, Kaur R, Liuzza MTullio, Pepino MY, Schöpf V, Pereda-Loth V, Olsson SB, Gerkin RC, Domínguez PRohlfs, Albayay J, Farruggia MC, Bhutani S, Fjaeldstad AW, Kumar R, Menini A, Bensafi M, Sandell M, Konstantinidis I, Di Pizio A, Genovese F, Öztürk L, Thomas-Danguin T, Frasnelli J, Boesveldt S, Saatci Ö, Saraiva LR, Lin C, Golebiowski J, Hwang L-Dar, Ozdener MHakan, Guàrdia MDolors, Laudamiel C, Ritchie M, Havlícek J, Pierron D, Roura E, Navarro M, Nolden AA, Lim J, Whitcroft KL, Colquitt LR, Ferdenzi C, Brindha EV, Altundag A, Macchi A, Nunez-Parra A, Patel ZM, Fiorucci S, Philpott CM, Smith BC, Lundström JN, Mucignat C, Parker JK, van den Brink M, Schmuker M, Fischmeister FPh S, Heinbockel T, Shields VDC, Faraji F, Santamaría E, Fredborg WEA, Morini G, Olofsson JK, Jalessi M, Karni N, D'Errico A, Alizadeh R, Pellegrino R, Meyer P, Huart C, Chen B, Soler GM, Alwashahi MK, Welge-Lüssen A, Freiherr J, de Groot JHB, Klein H, Okamoto M, Singh PBano, Hsieh JW, Reed DR, Hummel T, Munger SD, Hayes JE
Corporate AuthorsGCCR Group Author
JournalChem Senses
Date Published2020 Jun 20
ISSN1464-3553
Abstract

Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation and initial results of a multi-lingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in three distinct chemosensory modalities (smell, taste, and chemesthesis) before and during COVID-19. In the first 11 days after questionnaire launch, 4039 participants (2913 women, 1118 men, 8 other, ages 19-79) reported a COVID-19 diagnosis either via laboratory tests or clinical assessment. Importantly, smell, taste and chemesthetic function were each significantly reduced compared to their status before the disease. Difference scores (maximum possible change ±100) revealed a mean reduction of smell (-79.7 ± 28.7, mean ± SD), taste (-69.0 ± 32.6), and chemesthetic (-37.3 ± 36.2) function during COVID-19. Qualitative changes in olfactory ability (parosmia and phantosmia) were relatively rare and correlated with smell loss. Importantly, perceived nasal obstruction did not account for smell loss. Furthermore, chemosensory impairments were similar between participants in the laboratory test and clinical assessment groups. These results show that COVID-19-associated chemosensory impairment is not limited to smell, but also affects taste and chemesthesis. The multimodal impact of COVID-19 and lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.

DOI10.1093/chemse/bjaa041
Alternate JournalChem. Senses
PubMed ID32564071