Journal Article

Self-reported symptom study of COVID-19 chemosensory dysfunction in Malaysia

Tengku Kamalden, Tengku Mohamed Izam, Yusuf, Suhaimi, Salahuddin, Zulkiflee, Lee, Heng Gee, Soelar, Shahrul Aiman, Abd Wahab, Suhaila, Chow, Ting Soo, Lee, Shen-Han, Sachlin, Ida Sadja’ah, Gazali, Norzi, Devesahayam, Philip Rajan, Low, Lee Lee, Yeoh, Zhi Xiang, Ker, Hong Bee, Muhamad, Dzawani, Shanmuganathan, Jothi, Zaid, Masliza, Mohd Hashim, Siti Sabzah, Leong, Chee Loon, Misnan, Nor Arisah, Mustafa, Mahiran, Sawali, Halimuddin, Krishnan, Elang Kumaran, Periasamy, Chenthilnathan, Foo, Chee Yoong, Syed Alwi, Sharifah Baizura, Zaidan, Nor Zaila, Wong, Chun Yiing, Lim, Linda Pei Fang, Ismail, Mohd Noor, Chua, Hock Hin, Ibrahim, Mohd Zambri, Din, Sobani, Mohamad, Amran

2022

Overview

Alterations in the three chemosensory modalities—smell, taste, and chemesthesis—have been implicated in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet emerging data suggest a wide geographic and ethnic variation in the prevalence of these symptoms. Studies on chemosensory disorders in COVID-19 have predominantly focused on Caucasian populations whereas Asians remain understudied. We conducted a nationwide, multicentre cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire on a cohort of RT-PCR-confirmed adult COVID-19 patients in Malaysia between 6 June and 30 November 2020. The aim of our study was to investigate their presenting symptoms and assess their chemosensory function using self-ratings of perceived smell, taste, chemesthesis, and nasal blockage. In this cohort of 498 patients, 41.4% reported smell and/or taste loss when diagnosed with COVID-19, which was the commonest symptom. Blocked nose, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal disturbances were independent predictors of smell and/or taste loss on multivariate analysis. Self-ratings of chemosensory function revealed a reduction in smell, taste, and chemesthesis across the entire cohort of patients that was more profound among those reporting smell and/or taste loss as their presenting symptom. Perceived nasal obstruction accounted for only a small proportion of changes in smell and taste, but not for chemesthesis, supporting viral disruption of sensorineural mechanisms as the dominant aetiology of chemosensory dysfunction. Our study suggests that chemosensory dysfunction in COVID-19 is more widespread than previously reported among Asians and may be related to the infectivity of viral strains. Study Registration: NMRR-20-934-54803 and NCT04390165.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 692/1807 / 692/308/174 / 692/698/1688/512/2624 / 692/699/255/2514 / Adolescent / Adult / Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Appetite loss / Chemical stimuli / Chemoreception / Coronaviruses / COVID-19 / COVID-19 - complications / COVID-19 - diagnosis / COVID-19 - epidemiology / COVID-19 - physiopathology / COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing / Female / Humanities and Social Sciences / Humans / Infectivity / Irritation / Malaysia - epidemiology / Male / Middle Aged / multidisciplinary / Multivariate analysis / Olfaction / Olfaction Disorders - diagnosis / Olfaction Disorders - epidemiology / Olfaction Disorders - etiology / Olfaction Disorders - physiopathology / Polymerase chain reaction / SARS-CoV-2 / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Self Report / Sensory integration / Surveys and Questionnaires / Taste / Taste Disorders - diagnosis / Taste Disorders - epidemiology / Taste Disorders - etiology / Taste Disorders - physiopathology