More than smell – COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis

Valentina Parma; Kathrin Ohla; Maria G Veldhuizen; Masha Y Niv; Christine E Kelly; Alyssa J Bakke; Keiland W Cooper; Cédric Bouysset; Nicola Pirastu; Michele Dibattista; Rishemjit Kaur; Marco Tullio Liuzza; Marta Y Pepino; Veronika Schöpf; Veronica Pereda-loth; Shannon B Olsson; Richard C Gerkin; Paloma Rohlfs Domínguez; Javier Albayay; Michael C Farruggia; Surabhi Bhutani; Alexander W Fjaeldstad; Ritesh Kumar; Anna Menini; Moustafa Bensafi; Mari Sandell; Iordanis Konstantinidis; Antonella Di Pizio; Federica Genovese; Lina Öztürk; Thierry Thomas-danguin; Johannes Frasnelli; Sanne Boesveldt; Özlem Saatci; Luis R Saraiva; Cailu Lin; Jérôme Golebiowski; Liang- Dar Hwang; Mehmet Hakan Ozdener; Maria Dolors Guàrdia; Christophe Laudamiel; Marina Ritchie; Jan Havlícek; Denis Pierron; Eugeni Roura; Marta Navarro; Alissa A Nolden; Juyun Lim; K L Whitcroft; Lauren R Colquitt; Camille Ferdenzi; Evelyn V Brindha; Aytug Altundag; Alberto Macchi; Alexia Nunez-parra; Zara M Patel; Sébastien Fiorucci; Carl M Philpott; Barry C Smith; Johan N Lundström; Carla Mucignat; Jane K Parker; Mirjam Van Den Brink; Michael Schmuker; Florian Ph S Fischmeister; Thomas Heinbockel; Vonnie D C Shields; Farhoud Faraji; Enrique Santamaría; William E A Fredborg; Gabriella Morini; Jonas K Olofsson; Maryam Jalessi; Noam Karni; Anna D’errico; Rafieh Alizadeh; Robert Pellegrino; Pablo Meyer; Caroline Huart; Ben Chen; Graciela M Soler; Mohammed K Alwashahi; Antje Welge-lüssen; Jessica Freiherr; Jasper H B De Groot; Hadar Klein; Masako Okamoto; Preet Bano Singh; Julien W Hsieh; Danielle R Reed; Thomas Hummel; Steven D Munger; John E Hayes; Olagunju Abdulrahman; Pamela Dalton; Carol H Yan; Vera V Voznessenskaya; Jingguo Chen; Elizabeth A Sell; Julie Walsh-messinger; Nicholas S Archer; Sachiko Koyama; Vincent Deary; S Craig Roberts; Hüseyin Yanik; Samet Albayrak; Lenka Martinec Nováková; Ilja Croijmans; Patricia Portillo Mazal; Shima T Moein; Eitan Margulis; Coralie Mignot; Sajidxa Mariño; Dejan Georgiev; Pavan K Kaushik; Bettina Malnic; Hong Wang; Shima Seyed-allaei; Nur Yoluk; Sara Razzaghi-asl; Jeb M Justice; Diego Restrepo

doi:10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

More than smell – COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis

Valentina Parma, Kathrin Ohla, Maria G Veldhuizen, Masha Y Niv, Christine E Kelly, Alyssa J Bakke, Keiland W Cooper, Cédric Bouysset, Nicola Pirastu, Michele Dibattista, Rishemjit Kaur, Marco Tullio Liuzza, Marta Y Pepino, Veronika Schöpf, Veronica Pereda-loth, Shannon B Olsson, Richard C Gerkin, Paloma Rohlfs Domínguez, Javier Albayay, Michael C FarruggiaSurabhi Bhutani, Alexander W Fjaeldstad, Ritesh Kumar, Anna Menini, Moustafa Bensafi, Mari Sandell, Iordanis Konstantinidis, Antonella Di Pizio, Federica Genovese, Lina Öztürk, Thierry Thomas-danguin, Johannes Frasnelli, Sanne Boesveldt, Özlem Saatci, Luis R Saraiva, Cailu Lin, Jérôme Golebiowski, Liang- Dar Hwang, Mehmet Hakan Ozdener, Maria Dolors Guàrdia, Christophe Laudamiel, Marina Ritchie, Jan Havlícek, Denis Pierron, Eugeni Roura, Marta Navarro, Alissa A Nolden, Juyun Lim, K L Whitcroft, Lauren R Colquitt, Camille Ferdenzi, Evelyn V Brindha, Aytug Altundag, Alberto Macchi, Alexia Nunez-parra, Zara M Patel, Sébastien Fiorucci, Carl M Philpott, Barry C Smith, Johan N Lundström, Carla Mucignat, Jane K Parker, Mirjam Van Den Brink, Michael Schmuker, Florian Ph S Fischmeister, Thomas Heinbockel, Vonnie D C Shields, Farhoud Faraji, Enrique Santamaría, William E A Fredborg, Gabriella Morini, Jonas K Olofsson, Maryam Jalessi, Noam Karni, Anna D’errico, Rafieh Alizadeh, Robert Pellegrino, Pablo Meyer, Caroline Huart, Ben Chen, Graciela M Soler, Mohammed K Alwashahi, Antje Welge-lüssen, Jessica Freiherr, Jasper H B De Groot, Hadar Klein, Masako Okamoto, Preet Bano Singh, Julien W Hsieh, Danielle R Reed, Thomas Hummel, Steven D Munger, John E Hayes^*, Olagunju Abdulrahman, Pamela Dalton, Carol H Yan, Vera V Voznessenskaya, Jingguo Chen, Elizabeth A Sell, Julie Walsh-messinger, Nicholas S Archer, Sachiko Koyama, Vincent Deary, S Craig Roberts, Hüseyin Yanik, Samet Albayrak, Lenka Martinec Nováková, Ilja Croijmans, Patricia Portillo Mazal, Shima T Moein, Eitan Margulis, Coralie Mignot, Sajidxa Mariño, Dejan Georgiev, Pavan K Kaushik, Bettina Malnic, Hong Wang, Shima Seyed-allaei, Nur Yoluk, Sara Razzaghi-asl, Jeb M Justice, Diego Restrepo

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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 multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 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, and 8 others, aged 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 +/- standard deviation), 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 the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	609-622
Number of pages	14
Journal	Chemical Senses
Volume	45
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaa041
Publication status	Published - Sept 2020

Keywords

head and neck surgery
olfaction
somatosensation
US NATIONAL-HEALTH
OLFACTORY DISORDERS
R-PACKAGE
TASTE
CHEMOSENSITIVITY
COMPONENT
RATINGS

Access to Document

10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

https://academic.oup.com/chemse/advance-article/doi/10.1093/chemse/bjaa041/5860460

1 Erratum / corrigendum / retractions

Corrigendum to: More Than Smell-COVID-19 Is Associated With Severe Impairment of Smell, Taste, and Chemesthesis
GCCR Group Author & Hayes, J. E., 1 Jan 2021, In: Chemical Senses. 46, 3 p., bjab050.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Erratum / corrigendum / retractions › Academic

Open Access

Cite this

Parma, V., Ohla, K., Veldhuizen, M. G., Niv, M. Y., Kelly, C. E., Bakke, A. J., Cooper, K. W., Bouysset, C., Pirastu, N., Dibattista, M., Kaur, R., Liuzza, M. T., Pepino, M. Y., Schöpf, V., Pereda-loth, V., Olsson, S. B., Gerkin, R. C., Rohlfs Domínguez, P., Albayay, J., ... Restrepo, D. (2020). More than smell – COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis. Chemical Senses, 45(7), 609-622. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

@article{589545f9326d4357a4a2bdc2710beb0c,

title = "More than smell – COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis",

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 multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 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, and 8 others, aged 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 +/- standard deviation), 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 the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.",

keywords = "head and neck surgery, olfaction, somatosensation, US NATIONAL-HEALTH, OLFACTORY DISORDERS, R-PACKAGE, TASTE, CHEMOSENSITIVITY, COMPONENT, RATINGS",

author = "Valentina Parma and Kathrin Ohla and Veldhuizen, {Maria G} and Niv, {Masha Y} and Kelly, {Christine E} and Bakke, {Alyssa J} and Cooper, {Keiland W} and C{\'e}dric Bouysset and Nicola Pirastu and Michele Dibattista and Rishemjit Kaur and Liuzza, {Marco Tullio} and Pepino, {Marta Y} and Veronika Sch{\"o}pf and Veronica Pereda-loth and Olsson, {Shannon B} and Gerkin, {Richard C} and {Rohlfs Dom{\'i}nguez}, Paloma and Javier Albayay and Farruggia, {Michael C} and Surabhi Bhutani and Fjaeldstad, {Alexander W} and Ritesh Kumar and Anna Menini and Moustafa Bensafi and Mari Sandell and Iordanis Konstantinidis and {Di Pizio}, Antonella and Federica Genovese and Lina {\"O}zt{\"u}rk and Thierry Thomas-danguin and Johannes Frasnelli and Sanne Boesveldt and {\"O}zlem Saatci and Saraiva, {Luis R} and Cailu Lin and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Golebiowski and {Dar Hwang}, Liang- and Ozdener, {Mehmet Hakan} and Gu{\`a}rdia, {Maria Dolors} and Christophe Laudamiel and Marina Ritchie and Jan Havl{\'i}cek and Denis Pierron and Eugeni Roura and Marta Navarro and Nolden, {Alissa A} and Juyun Lim and Whitcroft, {K L} and Colquitt, {Lauren R} and Camille Ferdenzi and Brindha, {Evelyn V} and Aytug Altundag and Alberto Macchi and Alexia Nunez-parra and Patel, {Zara M} and S{\'e}bastien Fiorucci and Philpott, {Carl M} and Smith, {Barry C} and Lundstr{\"o}m, {Johan N} and Carla Mucignat and Parker, {Jane K} and {Van Den Brink}, Mirjam and Michael Schmuker and Fischmeister, {Florian Ph S} and Thomas Heinbockel and Shields, {Vonnie D C} and Farhoud Faraji and Enrique Santamar{\'i}a and Fredborg, {William E A} and Gabriella Morini and Olofsson, {Jonas K} and Maryam Jalessi and Noam Karni and Anna D{\textquoteright}errico and Rafieh Alizadeh and Robert Pellegrino and Pablo Meyer and Caroline Huart and Ben Chen and Soler, {Graciela M} and Alwashahi, {Mohammed K} and Antje Welge-l{\"u}ssen and Jessica Freiherr and {De Groot}, {Jasper H B} and Hadar Klein and Masako Okamoto and Singh, {Preet Bano} and Hsieh, {Julien W} and Reed, {Danielle R} and Thomas Hummel and Munger, {Steven D} and Hayes, {John E} and Olagunju Abdulrahman and Pamela Dalton and Yan, {Carol H} and Voznessenskaya, {Vera V} and Jingguo Chen and Sell, {Elizabeth A} and Julie Walsh-messinger and Archer, {Nicholas S} and Sachiko Koyama and Vincent Deary and Roberts, {S Craig} and H{\"u}seyin Yanik and Samet Albayrak and Nov{\'a}kov{\'a}, {Lenka Martinec} and Ilja Croijmans and Mazal, {Patricia Portillo} and Moein, {Shima T} and Eitan Margulis and Coralie Mignot and Sajidxa Mari{\~n}o and Dejan Georgiev and Kaushik, {Pavan K} and Bettina Malnic and Hong Wang and Shima Seyed-allaei and Nur Yoluk and Sara Razzaghi-asl and Justice, {Jeb M} and Diego Restrepo",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported financially with discretionary funds from the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), including a gift from James and Helen Zallie given in support of Sensory Science at Penn State. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.",

year = "2020",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1093/chemse/bjaa041",

language = "English",

volume = "45",

pages = "609--622",

journal = "Chemical Senses",

issn = "0379-864X",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

number = "7",

}

Parma, V, Ohla, K, Veldhuizen, MG, Niv, MY, Kelly, CE, Bakke, AJ, Cooper, KW, Bouysset, C, Pirastu, N, Dibattista, M, Kaur, R, Liuzza, MT, Pepino, MY, Schöpf, V, Pereda-loth, V, Olsson, SB, Gerkin, RC, Rohlfs Domínguez, P, 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, Dar Hwang, L, Ozdener, MH, Guàrdia, MD, 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, FPS, 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, PB, Hsieh, JW, Reed, DR, Hummel, T, Munger, SD, Hayes, JE, Abdulrahman, O, Dalton, P, Yan, CH, Voznessenskaya, VV, Chen, J, Sell, EA, Walsh-messinger, J, Archer, NS, Koyama, S, Deary, V, Roberts, SC, Yanik, H, Albayrak, S, Nováková, LM, Croijmans, I, Mazal, PP, Moein, ST, Margulis, E, Mignot, C, Mariño, S, Georgiev, D, Kaushik, PK, Malnic, B, Wang, H, Seyed-allaei, S, Yoluk, N, Razzaghi-asl, S, Justice, JM & Restrepo, D 2020, 'More than smell – COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis', Chemical Senses, vol. 45, no. 7, pp. 609-622. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

TY - JOUR

T1 - More than smell – COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis

AU - Parma, Valentina

AU - Ohla, Kathrin

AU - Veldhuizen, Maria G

AU - Niv, Masha Y

AU - Kelly, Christine E

AU - Bakke, Alyssa J

AU - Cooper, Keiland W

AU - Bouysset, Cédric

AU - Pirastu, Nicola

AU - Dibattista, Michele

AU - Kaur, Rishemjit

AU - Liuzza, Marco Tullio

AU - Pepino, Marta Y

AU - Schöpf, Veronika

AU - Pereda-loth, Veronica

AU - Olsson, Shannon B

AU - Gerkin, Richard C

AU - Rohlfs Domínguez, Paloma

AU - Albayay, Javier

AU - Farruggia, Michael C

AU - Bhutani, Surabhi

AU - Fjaeldstad, Alexander W

AU - Kumar, Ritesh

AU - Menini, Anna

AU - Bensafi, Moustafa

AU - Sandell, Mari

AU - Konstantinidis, Iordanis

AU - Di Pizio, Antonella

AU - Genovese, Federica

AU - Öztürk, Lina

AU - Thomas-danguin, Thierry

AU - Frasnelli, Johannes

AU - Boesveldt, Sanne

AU - Saatci, Özlem

AU - Saraiva, Luis R

AU - Lin, Cailu

AU - Golebiowski, Jérôme

AU - Dar Hwang, Liang-

AU - Ozdener, Mehmet Hakan

AU - Guàrdia, Maria Dolors

AU - Laudamiel, Christophe

AU - Ritchie, Marina

AU - Havlícek, Jan

AU - Pierron, Denis

AU - Roura, Eugeni

AU - Navarro, Marta

AU - Nolden, Alissa A

AU - Lim, Juyun

AU - Whitcroft, K L

AU - Colquitt, Lauren R

AU - Ferdenzi, Camille

AU - Brindha, Evelyn V

AU - Altundag, Aytug

AU - Macchi, Alberto

AU - Nunez-parra, Alexia

AU - Patel, Zara M

AU - Fiorucci, Sébastien

AU - Philpott, Carl M

AU - Smith, Barry C

AU - Lundström, Johan N

AU - Mucignat, Carla

AU - Parker, Jane K

AU - Van Den Brink, Mirjam

AU - Schmuker, Michael

AU - Fischmeister, Florian Ph S

AU - Heinbockel, Thomas

AU - Shields, Vonnie D C

AU - Faraji, Farhoud

AU - Santamaría, Enrique

AU - Fredborg, William E A

AU - Morini, Gabriella

AU - Olofsson, Jonas K

AU - Jalessi, Maryam

AU - Karni, Noam

AU - D’errico, Anna

AU - Alizadeh, Rafieh

AU - Pellegrino, Robert

AU - Meyer, Pablo

AU - Huart, Caroline

AU - Chen, Ben

AU - Soler, Graciela M

AU - Alwashahi, Mohammed K

AU - Welge-lüssen, Antje

AU - Freiherr, Jessica

AU - De Groot, Jasper H B

AU - Klein, Hadar

AU - Okamoto, Masako

AU - Singh, Preet Bano

AU - Hsieh, Julien W

AU - Reed, Danielle R

AU - Hummel, Thomas

AU - Munger, Steven D

AU - Hayes, John E

AU - Abdulrahman, Olagunju

AU - Dalton, Pamela

AU - Yan, Carol H

AU - Voznessenskaya, Vera V

AU - Chen, Jingguo

AU - Sell, Elizabeth A

AU - Walsh-messinger, Julie

AU - Archer, Nicholas S

AU - Koyama, Sachiko

AU - Deary, Vincent

AU - Roberts, S Craig

AU - Yanik, Hüseyin

AU - Albayrak, Samet

AU - Nováková, Lenka Martinec

AU - Croijmans, Ilja

AU - Mazal, Patricia Portillo

AU - Moein, Shima T

AU - Margulis, Eitan

AU - Mignot, Coralie

AU - Mariño, Sajidxa

AU - Georgiev, Dejan

AU - Kaushik, Pavan K

AU - Malnic, Bettina

AU - Wang, Hong

AU - Seyed-allaei, Shima

AU - Yoluk, Nur

AU - Razzaghi-asl, Sara

AU - Justice, Jeb M

AU - Restrepo, Diego

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported financially with discretionary funds from the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), including a gift from James and Helen Zallie given in support of Sensory Science at Penn State. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

PY - 2020/9

Y1 - 2020/9

N2 - 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 multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 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, and 8 others, aged 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 +/- standard deviation), 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 the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.

AB - 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 multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 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, and 8 others, aged 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 +/- standard deviation), 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 the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.

KW - head and neck surgery

KW - olfaction

KW - somatosensation

KW - US NATIONAL-HEALTH

KW - OLFACTORY DISORDERS

KW - R-PACKAGE

KW - TASTE

KW - CHEMOSENSITIVITY

KW - COMPONENT

KW - RATINGS

U2 - 10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

DO - 10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

M3 - Article

C2 - 32564071

SN - 0379-864X

VL - 45

SP - 609

EP - 622

JO - Chemical Senses

JF - Chemical Senses

IS - 7

ER -

More than smell – COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis

Abstract

Keywords

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Research output

Corrigendum to: More Than Smell-COVID-19 Is Associated With Severe Impairment of Smell, Taste, and Chemesthesis

Cite this