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Nguyen H, Albayay J, Höchenberger R, Bhutani S, Boesveldt S, Busch NA, Croijmans I, Cooper KW, de Groot JHB, Farruggia MC, Fjaeldstad AW, Hayes JE, Hummel T, Joseph PV, Laktionova TK, Thomas-Danguin T, Veldhuizen MG, Voznessenskaya VV, Parma V, Pepino MY, Ohla K. Covid-19 affects taste independently of smell: results from a combined chemosensory home test and online survey from a global cohort (N=10,953). medRxiv 2023:2023.01.16.23284630. [PMID: 36711499 PMCID: PMC9882440 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.16.23284630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
People often confuse smell loss with taste loss, so it is unclear how much gustatory function is reduced in patients self-reporting taste loss. Our pre-registered cross-sectional study design included an online survey in 12 languages with instructions for self-administering chemosensory tests with ten household items. Between June 2020 and March 2021, 10,953 individuals participated. Of these, 3,356 self-reported a positive and 602 a negative COVID-19 diagnosis (COVID+ and COVID-, respectively); 1,267 were awaiting test results (COVID?). The rest reported no respiratory illness and were grouped by symptoms: sudden smell/taste changes (STC, N=4,445), other symptoms excluding smell or taste loss (OthS, N=832), and no symptoms (NoS, N=416). Taste, smell, and oral irritation intensities and self-assessed abilities were rated on visual analog scales. Compared to the NoS group, COVID+ was associated with a 21% reduction in taste (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 15-28%), 47% in smell (95%-CI: 37-56%), and 17% in oral irritation (95%-CI: 10-25%) intensity. In all groups, perceived intensity of smell (r=0.84), taste (r=0.68), and oral irritation (r=0.37) was correlated. Our findings suggest most reports of taste dysfunction with COVID-19 were genuine and not due to misinterpreting smell loss as taste loss (i.e., a classical taste-flavor confusion). Assessing smell and taste intensity of household items is a promising, cost-effective screening tool that complements self-reports and helps to disentangle taste loss from smell loss. However, it does not replace standardized validated psychophysical tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ha Nguyen
- Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Javier Albayay
- Università degli Studi di Trento, Centro Interdipartimentale Mente/Cervello, Rovereto, IT
| | | | - Surabhi Bhutani
- San Diego State University, School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sanne Boesveldt
- Wageningen University, Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen, NL
| | - Niko A Busch
- University of Münster, Institute for Psychology, Münster, DE
| | - Ilja Croijmans
- Radboud University, Language and communication, Nijmegen, Gelderland, NL
| | - Keiland W Cooper
- University of California Irvine, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Irvine, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Alexander W Fjaeldstad
- Gødstrup Regional Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Flavour Clinic, University Clinic for Flavour, Balance and Sleep, Herning, DK
| | - John E Hayes
- The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Food Science, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Thomas Hummel
- University of Dresden Medical School, Smell & Taste Clinic, Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, Dresden, DE
| | - Paule V Joseph
- Paule Joseph, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, DIBCR, Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tatiana K Laktionova
- Tatiana K. Laktionova, A N Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Moscow, RU
| | - Thierry Thomas-Danguin
- Thierry Thomas-Danguin, INRAE CSGA, Research Center for Smell Taste and Feeding Behavior, Dijon, FR
| | | | - Vera V Voznessenskaya
- Tatiana K. Laktionova, A N Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Moscow, RU
| | | | - M Yanina Pepino
- University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Kathrin Ohla
- The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Food Science, University Park, PA, USA
- Helmut-Schmidt-University / University of the Armed Forces Hamburg, Experimental Psychology Unit, Hamburg, DE
- Firmenich SA, Human Perception & Bioresponse, Satigny, CH
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