1. Taste loss as a distinct symptom of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Author
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Hannum ME, Koch RJ, Ramirez VA, Marks SS, Toskala AK, Herriman RD, Lin C, Joseph PV, and Reed DR
- Subjects
- Male, Adult, Middle Aged, Female, Humans, SARS-CoV-2, Taste Disorders diagnosis, Taste Disorders etiology, Taste Disorders epidemiology, Smell, Taste, COVID-19 complications, Ageusia etiology, Ageusia epidemiology, Olfaction Disorders
- Abstract
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., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2023
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