Melkumyan Karine, Shingala Darshan, Simonyan Syuzanna, Torossian Hrag, Mkrtumyan Karen, Dilbaryan Karen, Davtyan Garri, Vardumyan Erik, Yenkoyan Konstantin
Neuroscience Laboratory, COBRAIN Center, Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, Yerevan 0025, Armenia.
Department of Physiology, Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, Yerevan 0025, Armenia.
J Clin Med. 2022 Jun 9;11(12):3313. doi: 10.3390/jcm11123313.
Neurological manifestations of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) such as olfactory and gustatory disturbance have been reported among convalescent COVID-19 patients. However, scientific data on the prevalence of smell and taste disturbance are lacking. Therefore, we present findings on the degree of smell and taste disturbances among the Armenian population.
Study participants were randomly recruited and then categorized into two groups based on their course of the disease. A cross-sectional study was performed to assess participants' sensitivity to smell triggered by the olfactory and the trigeminal nerves; their ability to differentiate between various odors; and to evaluate their gustatory perception.
The smell test revealed that the degree of olfactory nerve disturbance was different by 30.7% in those participants of the early group as compared to those of the late group, and the degree of trigeminal nerve disturbance was different by 71.3% in the early group as compared to the late group. A variation of the differentiating ability among the participants of the early and late groups was detected. Gustatory disturbances for all flavors were also found to be different in both the groups. A moderate positive correlation (0.51) was found between the overall sensitivity of smell and the ability to differentiate between various odors as cumulatively stimulated by both the olfactory and trigeminal nerves. Also, a moderate positive correlation (0.33) was found between headache and smell sensitivity through the olfactory nerve and a high negative correlation (-0.71) was found between headache and smell sensitivity through the trigeminal nerve.
Pathological changes in the olfactory and trigeminal perceptive abilities caused disturbances in smell sensation, with the trigeminal nerve being more affected. The capacity to differentiate fragrances did not improve with time and the disturbance severity of bitter taste perception was higher among the study participants.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的神经系统表现，如嗅觉和味觉障碍，在康复期COVID-19患者中已有报道。然而，关于嗅觉和味觉障碍患病率的科学数据尚缺。因此，我们展示了亚美尼亚人群中嗅觉和味觉障碍程度的研究结果。
研究参与者被随机招募，然后根据疾病进程分为两组。进行了一项横断面研究，以评估参与者对嗅觉神经和三叉神经引发的嗅觉的敏感性；他们区分各种气味的能力；以及评估他们的味觉感知。
嗅觉测试显示，早期组参与者的嗅觉神经障碍程度与晚期组相比差异为30.7%，早期组的三叉神经障碍程度与晚期组相比差异为71.3%。检测到早期和晚期组参与者之间区分能力的差异。两组中所有味道的味觉障碍也存在差异。嗅觉的总体敏感性与嗅觉神经和三叉神经累积刺激下区分各种气味的能力之间存在中度正相关（0.51）。此外，头痛与通过嗅觉神经的嗅觉敏感性之间存在中度正相关（0.33），头痛与通过三叉神经的嗅觉敏感性之间存在高度负相关（-0.71）。
嗅觉和三叉神经感知能力的病理变化导致嗅觉感觉障碍，其中三叉神经受影响更大。区分香味的能力不会随时间改善，且研究参与者中苦味感知的障碍严重程度更高。
