Recovery From COVID-19-Related Olfactory Disorders and Quality of Life: Insights From an Observational Online Study
Abstract
Although olfactory disorders (OD) are among the most significant symptoms of COVID-19, recovery time from COVID-19-related OD and their consequences on the quality of life remain poorly documented. We investigated the characteristics and behavioral consequences of COVID-19-related OD using a large-scale study involving 3111 French respondents (78% women) to an online questionnaire over a period of 9 months covering different epidemic waves (from 8 April 2020 to 13 January 2021). In the patients who subjectively recovered from COVID-19-related OD (N = 609), recovery occurred on average after 16 days and most of the time within 1 month (“normal” recovery range); 49 subjectively recovered in 1–2.5 months, and several cases took up to 6.5 months. Among the patients with ongoing OD (N = 2502), 974 were outside the “normal” recovery range (persistent OD) and reported OD for 1–10 months. Developing a persistent OD was more likely with increasing age and in women and was more often associated with parosmia and phantosmia. The deleterious impact of COVID-19-related OD on the quality of life was significantly aggravated by OD duration and was more pronounced in women. Because persistent OD is not infrequent after COVID-19, has deleterious consequences on the quality of life, and receives few solutions from the health practitioners, it would be beneficial to implement screening and treatment programs to minimize the long-term behavioral consequences of COVID-19-related OD.
Fichier principal
Ferdenzi-et-al_Manuscript_FinalClean.pdf (495.78 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Ferdenzi-et-al_SuppMat_FinalClean.pdf (954.8 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Figure 1_Distribution of OD duration_comp.tif (222.34 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Figure 2_Effects on OD duration_comp.tif (104.77 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Figure 3_OR and Effects on persistence of OD_comp.tif (563.09 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Figure 4_Parosmia phantosmia_comp.tif (225.5 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Figure 5_Effects on total impact on QoL_comp.tif (484.1 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Figure 6_comp.tiff (1.41 Mo)
Télécharger le fichier
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)