The Omicron variant of SARS‐CoV‐2 and its effect on the olfactory system

Dehgani-Mobaraki, Puya; Patel, Zara M.; Zaidi, Asiya Kamber; Giannandrea, David; Hopkins, Claire

doi:10.1002/alr.23089

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that chemosensory dysfunction is less likely with new COVID-19 variants [ 7 ]. Indeed, the Omicron variant has been observed to affect chemosensory function less severely [ 45 , 46 ]. Data from 294 participants who responded to a 6-month follow-up interview on the evolution of Omicron-related chemosensory dysfunction showed that 96% reported complete resolution at 6 months (95% CI 90.2–98.9%) [ 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemosensory Dysfunction in Long-Term COVID-19 Assessed by Self-Reported and Direct Psychophysical Methods

Albayay

Fontana

Parma

et al. 2022

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chemosensory dysfunction is a frequent postacute sequela of COVID-19. Depending on the type of test used to measure it (self-report vs. direct test), the degree of chemosensory dysfunction in long-term COVID-19 has been found to be highly variable. In this manuscript, we report the cross-sectional data (first assessment) of a longitudinal study (6-month follow-up) examining smell, taste, and chemesthesis in participants affected by long-term COVID-19 (COVID+) and participants without COVID-19 (COVID−) by means of both self-reported and direct psychophysical methods. In total, 208 Italian participants (COVID+ n = 133; COVID− n = 75) completed the Smell and Taste Check developed by the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR), which includes self-reports on smell, taste, and chemesthetic abilities as well as direct intensity ratings of unstandardized smell, taste, and chemesthetic household items. Furthermore, all participants completed SCENTinel, a validated direct smell test. We found a positive association between the self-reported, unstandardized direct test and the validated direct test for smell, indicating moderate to large agreement across measures. Furthermore, the performance on SCENTinel was significantly associated with self-reported smell loss. A positive association between the self-reports and the intensity of household items was also retrieved for taste and chemesthesis. The time relative to COVID-19 onset (267.3 ± 113.9 days) did not modulate the chemosensory performance of self-reported abilities, intensity ratings, and SCENTinel. All in all, we confirm the impairment of three chemical senses (smell, taste, and chemesthesis) in an independent sample of Italian participants affected by long-term COVID-19 by using and comparing self-reported and direct psychophysical methods. We contribute to the discussion on best practices to monitor chemosensory dysfunction in individuals affected by long-term COVID-19.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemosensory Dysfunction in Long-Term COVID-19 Assessed by Self-Reported and Direct Psychophysical Methods

Albayay

Fontana

Parma

et al. 2022

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Zu Beginn der COVID19 Pandemie 2020 konnte ein subjektiv berichteter "plötzlicher Geruchsverlust" mit einer Spezifität von 97 %, einer Sensitivität von 65 %, einem positiven Vorhersagewert von 63 % und einem negativen Vorhersagewert von 97 % eine Erkrankung mit COVID19 erfassen, wobei Patient:innen mit verstopfter Nase ausgeschlossen wurden [85]. Bei der späteren Omikron-Variante wurden häufiger eine Nasenatmungsbehinderung und Rhinorrhoe beschrieben bei einem meist intakten Riechvermögen [82].…”

Section: Covid19-bedingte Riechstörungunclassified

“…In addition, there is a correlation of the prevalence of COVID-19-OD to viral variant 80 81 , which a higher likelihood of COVID-19-OD in the alpha virus variant (50%) compared to the delta variant (44%) or omicron variant (17%), with the omicron variant being the least likely to cause COVID-19-OD, probably due to mutations related to the so-called “spike” glycoprotein 82 .…”

Section: Causes Of Olfactory Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the onset of the COVID pandemic, a subjectively reported “sudden loss of smell” could detect disease with COVID-19 with a specificity of 97%, a sensitivity of 65%, a positive predictive value of 63%, and a negative predictive value of 97%, excluding patients with nasal obstruction 85 . In the later omicron variant, nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea were more frequently described with mostly intact olfaction 82 .…”

Section: Causes Of Olfactory Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Riechen und Riechstörungen

Hummel

Guerra

Gunder³

et al. 2023

Laryngorhinootologie

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ZusammenfasssungDer Geruchssinn ist wichtig. Das wurde insbesondere v. a. Patient:innen mit infektbedingtem Riechverlust während der SARS-CoV2 Pandemie bewusst. Wir reagieren z. B. auf Körpergerüche unserer Mitmenschen – die Nase bestimmt/wen wir „riechen können“. Der Geruchssinn warnt uns vor Gefahren, die Wahrnehmung von Düften und die Wahrnehmung von Aromen beim Essen bedeuten Lebensqualität. Eine Anosmie muss daher ernst genommen werden. Obwohl sich olfaktorische Rezeptorneurone durch Regenerationsfähigkeit auszeichnen, sind Anosmien mit etwa 5% relativ häufig. Riechstörungen werden nach der Ursache eingeteilt (z. B. Infekte, Schädelhirntraumen, chronische Rhinosinusitis, Alter) mit den sich daraus ergebenden unterschiedlichen Therapieoptionen und Prognosen. Eine gründliche Anamnese ist deshalb bedeutsam. Zur Diagnostik stehen verschiedenste Untersuchungsverfahren zur Verfügung, von orientierenden Kurztests über ausführliche mehrdimensionale Testverfahren bis hin zu elektrophysiologischen und bildgebenden Methoden. Damit sind quantitative Riechstörungen gut erfassbar und nachverfolgbar. Bei qualitativen Riechstörungen wie der Parosmie stehen derzeit allerdings keine objektivierenden Diagnoseverfahren zur Verfügung. Die therapeutischen Möglichkeiten bei Riechstörungen sind begrenzt. Trotzdem stehen mit dem Riechtraining sowie verschiedenen additiven medikamentösen Möglichkeiten wirksame Optionen zur Verfügung. Von großer Bedeutung ist nach wie vor die Beratung und das kompetente Gespräch mit den Patient:innen.

show abstract

“…2). Twenty-two studies were from populations primarily of European ancestry [8,32,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59], eight studies on East Asians [60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67], three studies on South Asians [68][69][70], three studies on Latinos [71][72][73], four studies on populations in Africa [74][75][76][77], and one study from West Asia (Turkey [78]). The location of studies, with the prevalence indicated by the color intensity, and the cohort size indicated by the size of the circles, shows that Western countries report the highest prevalence, while studies from East Asia and Africa report the lowest prevalence (Fig.…”

Section: Properties Of Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Olfactory Dysfunction with the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Bartheld

Wang

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The omicron variant is thought to cause less olfactory dysfunction than previous variants of SARS-CoV-2, but the reported prevalence differs greatly between populations and studies. Our systematic review and meta-analysis provide information about regional differences in prevalence as well as an estimate of the global prevalence of olfactory dysfunction based on 41 studies reporting on nearly 600,000 patients infected with the omicron variant. Our estimate of the omicron-induced prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in populations of European ancestry is 11.6%, while it is significantly lower in all other populations, at 2.9-5.4%. When ethnic differences and population sizes are taken into account, the global prevalence of omicron-induced hyposmia in adults is estimated at 5.2%. Omicron's effect on olfaction is 3-4fold lower than that of the alpha or delta variant, according to previous meta-analyses and our analysis of studies that directly compared prevalence of olfactory dysfunction between omicron and previous variants. The profile of prevalence differences between ethnicities mirrors the results of a recent genome-wide association study that implicated a gene locus encoding an odorant-metabolizing enzyme, UDP glycosyltransferase, to be linked to the extent of COVID-related loss of smell. Our analysis is consistent with the hypothesis that this enzyme contributes to the observed population differences.

show abstract

The Omicron variant of SARS‐CoV‐2 and its effect on the olfactory system

Cited by 8 publications

References 8 publications

Chemosensory Dysfunction in Long-Term COVID-19 Assessed by Self-Reported and Direct Psychophysical Methods

Chemosensory Dysfunction in Long-Term COVID-19 Assessed by Self-Reported and Direct Psychophysical Methods

Riechen und Riechstörungen

Prevalence of Olfactory Dysfunction with the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About