Table 1.
Comparison of short (≤28 days) and long (>28 days) taste loss. For Fisher’s exact test and Chi2 test observed values are shown followed by expected values in brackets. *—significant at p < 0.05, **—significant at p < 0.01.
| Variable | Test | Short Smell Loss (≤28 Days) Mean ±95% CI | Long Smell Loss (>28 Days) Mean ±95% CI | Test Statistic | p-Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | t-test | 31.73 (30.50–32.96) | 36.66 (33.07–40.25) | −3.23 | 0.001 ** | ||
| BMI | t-test | 26.74 (25.88–27.60) | 26.16 (24.70–27.62) | 0.62 | 0.54 | ||
| Fruit/vegetable intake | t-test | 2.98 (2.75–3.22) | 3.20 (2.65–3.75) | −0.79 | 0.43 | ||
| Illness severity | Mann–Whitney | 4.42 (4.15–4.70) | 4.98 (4.42–5.54) | −1.87 | 0.061 | ||
| Smell loss severity | Mann–Whitney | 8.46 (8.07–8.84) | 8.36 (7.53–9.18) | −0.31 | 0.75 | ||
| Taste loss severity | Mann–Whitney | 7.79 (7.41–8.12) | 7.56 (6.82–8.31) | −0.69 | 0.49 | ||
| Sex | Fisher’s exact | M | 70 (65) | M | 12 (17) | NA | 0.13 |
| F | 112 (117) | F | 35 (30) | ||||
| Vitamin D | Fisher’s exact | No | 154 (157) | No | 44 (41) | NA | 0.15 |
| Yes | 28 (25) | Yes | 3 (6) | ||||
| Antidepressant | Fisher’s exact | No | 161 (161) | No | 42 (42) | NA | 1.00 |
| Yes | 21 (21) | Yes | 5 (5) | ||||
| Flossing | Fisher’s exact | No | 46 (52) | No | 19 (13) | NA | 0.047 * |
| Yes | 136 (130) | Yes | 28 (34) | ||||
| Missing teeth | Fisher’s exact | No | 153 (153) | No | 39 (39) | NA | 0.81 |
| Yes | 25 (25) | Yes | 7 (7) | ||||
| Appliances | Fisher’s exact | No | 147 (147) | No | 38 (38) | NA | 1.00 |
| Yes | 35 (35) | Yes | 9 (9) | ||||
| Brushing freq. | Pearson’s Chi2 | Daily | 58 (53) | Daily | 9 (14) | 4.25 | 0.12 |
| 2 × day | 114 (116) | 2 × day | 32 (30) | ||||
| >2 × day | 9 (11) | >2 × day | 5 (3) | ||||
| Alcohol freq. | Pearson’s Chi2 | Never | 35 (37) | Never | 11 (9) | 1.34 | 0.72 |
| Monthly | 43 (43) | Monthly | 11 (11) | ||||
| Weekly | 64 (65) | Weekly | 18 (17) | ||||
| Daily | 40 (37) | Daily | 7 (10) | ||||
| Smoking status | Pearson’s Chi2 | Never | 145 (142) | Never | 34 (37) | 1.19 | 0.55 |
| Former | 12 (13) | Former | 9 (7) | ||||
| Current | 25 (27) | Current | 4 (3) | ||||
| No. of fillings | Pearson’s Chi2 | None | 44 (48) | None | 16 (12) | 2.93 | 0.40 |
| <5 | 84 (80) | <5 | 16 (21) | ||||
| 5–10 | 39 (40) | 5–10 | 12 (11) | ||||
| >10 | 13 (13) | >10 | 3 (3) | ||||