Olfactory-related Quality of Life Adjustments in Smell Loss during the Coronavirus-19 Pandemic
Liu DT, Prem B, Besser G, Renner B, Mueller CA (2021)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2021
Journal
DOI: 10.1177/19458924211053118
Abstract
Background: Previous studies provided the first evidence that the importance of olfaction decreases with the duration of olfactory dysfunction (OD). Objective: To evaluate differences in olfactory-related quality of life (QoL) between patients with new-onset and persistent smell loss (>4 weeks) during the coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic and patients with persistent postinfectious OD (PIOD) that were recruited before the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective study that included 149 patients with self-reported OD. The olfactory-related QoL was measured using the questionnaire of OD (QOD). The QOD measures the degree to which patients (i) adjust and cope with smell loss (QOD-positive statement [QOD-PS]), (ii) suffer from distorted odor perceptions (QOD-parosmia [QOD-PAR]), and (iii) suffer from smell loss in general (QOD-negative statement [QOD-NS]). Self-perceived chemosensory function, demographics, olfactory function, and duration of smell loss were evaluated. Analyses of variance were used to depict differences in QoL-outcomes between different OD groups. Results: All patients included during the COVID-19 pandemic reported an extensive loss of chemosensory functions of smell, taste, and flavor perception. Psychophysical retronasal screening testing showed olfactory impairments in more than half of these patients. One-way analysis of variance and posthoc tests revealed that the QOD-NS was significantly higher in the new-onset OD group than the PIOD group. At the same time, the QOD-PS score was significantly higher in the PIOD and the persistent COVID-19 OD group than in the new-onset OD group. Conclusion: We showed that patients with persistent OD experienced better olfactory-related adjustment and lower QoL-impairment scores than those with recent-onset smell loss, suggesting that the olfactory-related QoL might change as a function of time after symptom onset.
Authors with CRIS profile
Involved external institutions
Austria (AT)How to cite
APA:
Liu, D.T., Prem, B., Besser, G., Renner, B., & Mueller, C.A. (2021). Olfactory-related Quality of Life Adjustments in Smell Loss during the Coronavirus-19 Pandemic. American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy. https://doi.org/10.1177/19458924211053118
MLA:
Liu, David T., et al. "Olfactory-related Quality of Life Adjustments in Smell Loss during the Coronavirus-19 Pandemic." American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy (2021).
BibTeX: Download