About 5% of people who contract Covid-19 face loss or change in smell or taste for at least six months after infection, a scientific survey published on Thursday concluded.
Loss of smell has been a hallmark of coronavirus infection since the beginning of the pandemic, but it was unclear how often symptoms like this occur or how long they can last.
The researchers analyzed the results of 18 previous studies, which involved 3,699 patients. Using a mathematical model, they estimated that 5.6% of patients had problems with smell and 4.4% with changes in taste for at least six months after infection.
According to the study’s authors, the loss or modification of smell or taste can lead to “intense suffering” and it is necessary that health systems are prepared to support these people, who often feel “isolated” after being laid off by the doctors.
Women are most affected
The research, published in the medical journal BMJ, also found that women were less likely than men to regain their sense of taste and smell after infection.
The reason for this difference isn’t known, but the researchers pondered that women, in general, tend to have a stronger sense of smell and taste than men, meaning they have more to lose. One woman reported that she had not regained her sense of smell 27 months after contracting Covid.
The researchers noted that while most infected people are expected to regain their sense of smell and taste within the first three months after infection, “a large group of people can develop lasting disorders that require timely diagnosis, personalized treatment, and long-term follow-up.” “.
Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London not involved in the research, called it a “consistent and important study”.
“Studies like this one alert us to the silent torment of people who suffer with persistent symptoms but who may not have felt it was worth contacting their doctor on the assumption that there wasn’t much they could do,” he said.
The data does not consider which variant of the coronavirus patients have contracted. Previous research indicates that the omicron variant is less likely to cause loss of smell.
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