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

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, Hwang LD, 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 VD, Faraji F, Santamaría E, Fredborg WE, 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 JH, Klein H, Okamoto M, Singh PB, Hsieh JW, Reed DR, Hummel T, Munger SD, Hayes JE (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Book Volume: 45

Pages Range: 609-622

Journal Issue: 7

DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

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.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Arizona State University (ASU) United States (USA) (US) Medizinische Universität Wien Austria (AT) UC San Diego School of Medicine United States (USA) (US) University of Padua / Universita degli Studi di Padova Italy (IT) University City Science Center United States (USA) (US) Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) / University of Buenos Aires Argentina (AR) Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier France (FR) University of Tennessee (UTK) United States (USA) (US) Guangzhou Medical University (GMU) / 广州医科大学 China (CN) Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro / Università degli studi Magna Græcia di Catanzaro Italy (IT) University of Hertfordshire United Kingdom (GB) Universidad de Extremadura Spain (ES) San Diego State University United States (USA) (US) Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel (IL) Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées France (FR) Mersin Üniversitesi (MEÜ) Turkey (TR) University of Côte d'Azur / Université Côte d'Azur France (FR) Hospitalsenheden Vest Denmark (DK) Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO) India (IN) Forschungszentrum Jülich / Research Centre Jülich (FZJ) Germany (DE) University of Bari Aldo Moro / Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro Italy (IT) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign United States (USA) (US) University of London United Kingdom (GB) Universitätsspital Basel Switzerland (CH) Helsingin yliopisto / University of Helsinki Finland (FI) Howard University United States (USA) (US) Wageningen University & Research Netherlands (NL) University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) United States (USA) (US) Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz Austria (AT) University of Tokyo Japan (JP) Hazrat Rasul Akram Hospital / بیمارستان حضرت رسول اکرم Iran, Islamic Republic of (IR) University of Queensland Australia (AU) University of Florida United States (USA) (US) Institute for Research and Technology in Food and Agriculture / Cataluña Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) Spain (ES) Technische Universität München (TUM) Germany (DE) Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCB) France (FR) Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences (KITS) / Karunya University India (IN) DreamAir LLC United States (USA) (US) University College London (UCL) United Kingdom (GB) Stanford University United States (USA) (US) IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center United States (USA) (US) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece (GR) Technische Universität Dresden Germany (DE) Towson University United States (USA) (US) Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc (CHU St-Luc) Belgium (BE) Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Canada (CA) Stockholm University / Stockholms universitet Sweden (SE) Oregon State University (OSU) United States (USA) (US) Geneva University Hospitals / Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève (HUG) Switzerland (CH) Universidad Pública de Navarra Spain (ES) Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main Germany (DE) University of California Irvine United States (USA) (US) Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l’Alimentation CSGA France (FR) Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) Italy (IT) University of East Anglia United Kingdom (GB) Universiteit Utrecht (UU) / Utrecht University Netherlands (NL) Hadassah Medical Center / מרכז רפואי הדסה‎‎ Israel (IL) Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) United States (USA) (US) Biruni University / Biruni Üniversitesi Turkey (TR) University of Oslo Norway (NO) Maastricht University Netherlands (NL) Temple University United States (USA) (US) Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) / مستشفى جامعة السلطان قابوس Oman (OM) Univerzita Karlova v Praze / Charles University in Prague Czech Republic (CZ) Yale School of Medicine United States (USA) (US) University of Insubria / Università degli Studi dell'Insubria Italy (IT) University of Reading United Kingdom (GB) University of Gastronomic Sciences / Università degli studi di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo Italy (IT) Universidad de Chile Chile (CL) University of Edinburgh United Kingdom (GB)

How to cite

APA:

Parma, V., Ohla, K., Veldhuizen, M.G., Niv, M.Y., Kelly, C.E., Bakke, A.J.,... Hayes, J.E. (2020). More Than Smell-COVID-19 Is Associated With Severe Impairment of Smell, Taste, and Chemesthesis. Chemical Senses, 45(7), 609-622. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaa041

MLA:

Parma, Valentina, et al. "More Than Smell-COVID-19 Is Associated With Severe Impairment of Smell, Taste, and Chemesthesis." Chemical Senses 45.7 (2020): 609-622.

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