Department of Humanities, University of Calabria, Rende, CS, Italy.
Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences, and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
J Affect Disord. 2023 Feb 15;323:741-747. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.12.049. Epub 2022 Dec 15.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) often causes chemosensory impairment, and olfactory dysfunctions may have negative consequences on psychological distress. This study aimed at assessing which dimension of perceived olfactory disfunctions (i.e., subjective olfactory capability, smell-related problems, or olfactory-related quality of life [QoL]) was most associated with psychological distress in people diagnosed with COVID-19.
364 participants (65 men and 299 women) diagnosed with COVID-19 on average 7 months prior to the beginning of the study were recruited between June 5 and 21, 2021, to take part in an online cross-sectional survey. Participants answered questions on demographics, clinical factors, perceived olfactory functioning, and psychological distress. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was conducted, assessing the role of demographics, clinical factors, and perceived olfactory functioning dimensions on psychological distress.
More than half of the participants met the cut-off for all perceived olfactory dysfunctions scales and psychological distress. Being women, smoker, with comorbidities, and greater severity of COVID-19 symptoms were associated with higher scores on psychological distress. Among perceived olfactory functioning scales, only impairment in olfaction QoL was associated with psychological distress.
Limitations concerned the cross-sectional nature of the study and the unbalanced sample in terms of gender.
The study confirmed the core intertwining between mood, perceived QoL, and olfactory functioning, showing how impairments in olfactory processing are strongly correlated with psychological distress through the impact they have on the perceived QoL.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）常导致化学感觉障碍，嗅觉功能障碍可能对心理困扰产生负面影响。本研究旨在评估在诊断为 COVID-19 的人群中，感知嗅觉功能障碍的哪个维度（即主观嗅觉能力、与嗅觉相关的问题或嗅觉相关的生活质量[QoL]）与心理困扰最相关。
2021 年 6 月 5 日至 21 日，招募了 364 名（65 名男性和 299 名女性）平均在研究开始前 7 个月被诊断为 COVID-19 的参与者，参加在线横断面调查。参与者回答了关于人口统计学、临床因素、感知嗅觉功能和心理困扰的问题。进行了分层多元线性回归分析，评估人口统计学、临床因素和感知嗅觉功能维度对心理困扰的作用。
超过一半的参与者在所有感知嗅觉功能障碍量表和心理困扰方面都达到了临界值。女性、吸烟者、合并症和 COVID-19 症状更严重与心理困扰的评分较高相关。在感知嗅觉功能量表中，只有嗅觉 QoL 受损与心理困扰相关。
研究的局限性在于横断面研究的性质以及性别方面不平衡的样本。
该研究证实了情绪、感知 QoL 和嗅觉功能之间的核心交织，表明嗅觉处理受损如何通过对感知 QoL 的影响与心理困扰密切相关。
