Smell and taste problems persist in 5 percent Covid-19 patients as long term effects: Covid-19 study

NIO Desk, July 28

Smell and taste problems persist in 5 percent Covid-19 patients as long term effects: COVID-19 study

According to a study released on Thursday, about 5% of people with Covid-19 experience persistent issues with their sense of taste or smell. This could add to the burden of long Covid, potentially.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, catching coronavirus has been associated with losing one’s sense of smell, but it is unclear how frequently it happens or how long such symptoms can last.

This has been a part of a study which results were shared.

Researchers examined the results of 18 earlier studies involving 3,700 patients in an effort to learn more.

A recent study that was published in BMJ found that 4 percent of patients had not regained their sense of smell and 2 percent had not regained their sense of taste six months after contracting the virus.

It wasn’t clear whether this was a complete or partial recovery, though. According to the researchers’ estimates, 5.6 percent of patients may continue to experience problems in sense of smell, while 4.4 percent may experience difficulty with sense of taste.

The study also discovered that when compared to men, women were less likely recover these senses than men.

The reason being unclear as per the research, the researchers suggested that since women typically have better senses of smell and taste in the first place than men, so they stand to lose more when contracted Covid-19.

Smell and taste problems persist in 5 percent Covid-19 patients as long term effects: COVID-19 study