TABLE 1.
Characteristics of 98 patients with COVID‐9–related long‐term olfactory dysfunction
| Characteristics | n | Prevalence (95% CI a ), % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Men | 30 | 30.6 (21.7‐40.7) | ||
| Women | 68 | 69.4 (59.3‐78.3) | ||
| Age, years | ||||
| <40 | 33 | 33.7 (24.4‐43.9) | ||
| 40‐49 | 23 | 23.5 (15.5‐33.1) | ||
| ≥50 | 42 | 42.9 (32.9‐53.3) | ||
| Tobacco smoking | ||||
| Never | 73 | 74.5 (64.7‐82.8) | ||
| Ever | 25 | 25.5 (17.2‐35.3) | ||
| Comorbidity b | ||||
| No | 65 | 66.3 (56.1‐75.6) | ||
| Yes | 33 | 33.7 (24.4‐43.9) | ||
| BMI | ||||
| <18.5 | 3 | 3.1 (0.6‐8.7) | ||
| 18.5‐24.9 | 53 | 54.1 (43.7‐64.2) | ||
| 25‐29.9 | 24 | 24.5 (16.4‐34.2) | ||
| ≥30 | 18 | 18.4 (11.3‐27.5) | ||
| Self‐reported smell or taste impairment (SNOT‐22 item) | ||||
| 1 = Very mild | 30 | 30.6 (21.7‐40.7) | ||
| 2 = Mild or slight | 10 | 10.2 (5.0‐18.0) | ||
| 3 = Moderate | 12 | 12.2 (6.5‐20.4) | ||
| 4 = Severe | 14 | 14.3 (8.0‐22.8) | ||
| 5 = As bad as it can be | 32 | 32.7 (23.5‐42.9) | ||
| Self‐reported qualitative OD at any time | ||||
| Parosmia or phantosmia | 53 | 54.1 (43.7‐64.2) | ||
| Parosmia | 38 | 38.8 (29.1‐49.2) | ||
| Phantosmia | 32 | 32.7 (23.5‐42.9) | ||
| Self‐reported qualitative OD at time of psychophysical evaluation | ||||
| Parosmia or phantosmia | 35 | 35.7 (26.3‐46.0) | ||
| Parosmia | 29 | 29.6 (20.8‐39.7) | ||
| Phantosmia | 20 | 20.4 (12.9‐29.7) | ||
| Presence of qualitative OD based on structured questionnaire score <100% | ||||
| Score A < 100% | 82 | 83.7 (74.8‐90.4) | ||
| Score A categories at time of psychophysical evaluation | ||||
| <50% (low) | 23 | 23.5 (15.5‐33.1) | ||
| 50%‐84% (medium) | 56 | 57.1 (46.7‐67.1) | ||
| ≥85% (high) | 19 | 19.4 (12.1‐28.6) | ||
| TDI categories | ||||
| ≤16.0 | 15 | 15.3 (8.8‐24.0) | ||
| 16.25‐30.50 | 56 | 57.1 (46.8‐67.1) | ||
| ≥30.75 | 27 | 27.6 (19.0‐37.5) | ||
| Score A | p Value c | |||
| <50% | 50%‐84% | ≥85% | ||
| Orthonasal evaluation | ||||
| Threshold (range, 1‐16) | 4 (2‐8) | 5 (2‐8) | 4 (2‐8) | p = 0.9731 |
| Discriminant (range, 0‐16) | 9 (9‐12) | 10 (7‐11) | 11 (9‐12) | p = 0.3723 |
| Identification (range, 0‐16) | 10 (9‐12) | 10 (7‐13) | 12 (10‐13) | p = 0.1810 |
| TDI (range, 1‐48) | 26 (20‐30) | 25 (17‐34) | 27 (23‐31) | p = 0.5778 |
| Retronasal identification score (range, 0‐20) | 15 (10‐17) | 15 (9‐17) | 17 (15‐19) | p = 0.0385 |
Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; COVID‐19 = coronavirus disease‐2019; OD = olfactory dysfunction; SNOT‐22 = 22‐item Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test; TDI = threshold, discrimination, identification.
a
95% confidence intervals were calculated using Clopper‐Pearson method.
b
Comorbidity includes obesity (BMI, ≥30), diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, active cancer, renal disease, and liver disease.
c
Kruskal‐Wallis test.