Olfactory-related quality of life adjustments to smell loss during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Objective: Previous studies provided the first evidence that the importance of olfaction decreases with the duration of smell loss. It is currently unknown whether the olfactoryrelated quality of life (QoL) also differs between patients with new-onset and persistent smell loss (longer than four weeks) during the coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic and patients with persistent postinfectious smell loss (PIOD) that were recruited before the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective study that included 149 patients with self-reported olfactory dysfunction (OD). The olfactory-related QoL was measured using the Questionnaire of Olfactory Dysfunction (QOD). The QOD measures the degree to which patients (i) adjust and cope with smell loss (QOD-PS) and (ii) suffer from OD in general (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 QoLoutcomes between different OD groups. Results: All patients included during the COVID-19 pandemic reported an extensive loss of chemosensory functions smell, taste, and flavor perception. Retronasal testing revealed 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 compared to the new-onset OD group. Conclusions: We showed that patients with persistent OD experienced better olfactory-related adjustment and lower QoL-impairment than those with recent-onset OD, suggesting that the olfactory-related QoL might change as a function of time after symptom onset.