tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Chem Senses
. 2023 Jan 1:48:bjad043.
doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjad043. Taste loss as a distinct symptom of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Mackenzie E Hannum[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Riley J Koch[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Vicente A Ramirez[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sarah S Marks[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aurora K Toskala[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Riley D Herriman[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Cailu Lin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paule V Joseph[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], Danielle R Reed[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Chemosensory scientists have been skeptical that reports of COVID-19 taste loss are genuine, in part because before COVID-19 taste loss was rare and often confused with smell loss. Therefore, to establish the predicted prevalence rate of taste loss in COVID-19 patients, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 376 papers published in 2020-2021, with 235 meeting all inclusion criteria. Drawing on previous studies and guided by early meta-analyses, we explored how methodological differences (direct vs. self-report measures) may affect these estimates. We hypothesized that direct measures of taste are at least as sensitive as those obtained by self-report and that the preponderance of evidence confirms taste loss is a symptom of COVID-19. The meta-analysis showed that, among 138,015 COVID-19-positive patients, 36.62% reported taste dysfunction (95% confidence interval: 33.02%-40.39%), and the prevalence estimates were slightly but not significantly higher from studies using direct (n = 15) versus self-report (n = 220) methodologies (Q = 1.73, df = 1, P = 0.1889). Generally, males reported lower rates of taste loss than did females, and taste loss was highest among middle-aged adults. Thus, taste loss is likely a bona fide symptom of COVID-19, meriting further research into the most appropriate direct methods to measure it and its underlying mechanisms.
Keywords: COVID-19; ageusia; coronavirus; gustatory dysfunction; taste loss.
. 2023 Jan 1:48:bjad043.
doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjad043. Taste loss as a distinct symptom of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Mackenzie E Hannum[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Riley J Koch[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Vicente A Ramirez[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sarah S Marks[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aurora K Toskala[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Riley D Herriman[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Cailu Lin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paule V Joseph[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], Danielle R Reed[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38100383
- DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjad043
Chemosensory scientists have been skeptical that reports of COVID-19 taste loss are genuine, in part because before COVID-19 taste loss was rare and often confused with smell loss. Therefore, to establish the predicted prevalence rate of taste loss in COVID-19 patients, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 376 papers published in 2020-2021, with 235 meeting all inclusion criteria. Drawing on previous studies and guided by early meta-analyses, we explored how methodological differences (direct vs. self-report measures) may affect these estimates. We hypothesized that direct measures of taste are at least as sensitive as those obtained by self-report and that the preponderance of evidence confirms taste loss is a symptom of COVID-19. The meta-analysis showed that, among 138,015 COVID-19-positive patients, 36.62% reported taste dysfunction (95% confidence interval: 33.02%-40.39%), and the prevalence estimates were slightly but not significantly higher from studies using direct (n = 15) versus self-report (n = 220) methodologies (Q = 1.73, df = 1, P = 0.1889). Generally, males reported lower rates of taste loss than did females, and taste loss was highest among middle-aged adults. Thus, taste loss is likely a bona fide symptom of COVID-19, meriting further research into the most appropriate direct methods to measure it and its underlying mechanisms.
Keywords: COVID-19; ageusia; coronavirus; gustatory dysfunction; taste loss.