Ayoub Lojine, Almarzouki Abeer F, Al-Raddadi Rajaa, Bendary Mohamed A
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Rabigh Branch, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 21911, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Clinical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
Diseases. 2024 Dec 28;13(1):4. doi: 10.3390/diseases13010004.
Following the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many patients have reported ongoing smell and taste issues. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction among patients with a history of COVID-19 and its association with autonomic dysfunction and disability.
This case-control study included a COVID-19 group (n = 82) and a control group (n = 82). Olfactory dysfunction, including parosmia and taste problems, was explored using self-reports and the Quick Smell Identification Test (QSIT). The association between post-COVID-19 disability severity and taste and smell alterations was also analyzed. Moreover, autonomic function was evaluated using the Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale-31 (COMPASS-31) to assess the association between autonomic and olfactory dysfunction.
Significantly higher rates of ongoing smell (26.8%) and taste (14.6%) dysfunction were reported for the post-COVID-19 group compared to the control group. Post-COVID-19 patients reported 36.6 times more smell issues and 8.22 times more taste issues than controls. Parosmia scores were significantly worse in the post-COVID-19 group, while QSIT scores showed no significant difference between the groups. However, those with worse QSIT scores exhibited significantly more ongoing smell issues. No significant association was observed between disability and altered smell or taste. Higher secretomotor dysfunction scores were significantly associated with abnormal QSIT scores and worse parosmia scores; the other domains of the COMPASS-31 scale showed no significant associations.
The findings indicated a potential link between autonomic and olfactory dysfunction. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying persistent olfactory and autonomic dysfunction in post-COVID-19 patients.
在2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行之后，许多患者报告存在持续的嗅觉和味觉问题。本研究旨在调查有COVID-19病史的患者中嗅觉和味觉功能障碍的患病率及其与自主神经功能障碍和残疾的关联。
本病例对照研究包括一个COVID-19组（n = 82）和一个对照组（n = 82）。使用自我报告和快速嗅觉识别测试（QSIT）来探究嗅觉功能障碍，包括嗅觉异常和味觉问题。还分析了COVID-19后残疾严重程度与味觉和嗅觉改变之间的关联。此外，使用复合自主神经症状量表-31（COMPASS-31）评估自主神经功能，以评估自主神经功能与嗅觉功能障碍之间的关联。
与对照组相比，COVID-19后组报告的持续嗅觉功能障碍（26.8%）和味觉功能障碍（14.6%）发生率显著更高。COVID-19后患者报告的嗅觉问题是对照组的36.6倍，味觉问题是对照组的8.22倍。COVID-19后组的嗅觉异常评分明显更差，而两组之间的QSIT评分无显著差异。然而，QSIT评分较差的患者存在的持续嗅觉问题明显更多。未观察到残疾与嗅觉或味觉改变之间存在显著关联。较高的分泌运动功能障碍评分与异常的QSIT评分和更差的嗅觉异常评分显著相关；COMPASS-31量表的其他领域未显示出显著关联。
研究结果表明自主神经功能与嗅觉功能障碍之间存在潜在联系。需要进一步研究以阐明COVID-19后患者持续性嗅觉和自主神经功能障碍的潜在机制。
