A new study looking at the data of people who tested positive for COVID-19 backs up recent claims that the loss of the senses of smell and taste can be a symptom of the disease.
Earlier this month, preliminary findings in a preprint started making headlines because they suggested that the list of possible COVID-19 symptoms should include the loss of smell and taste.
That study assessed symptoms in 579 people who reported having tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,123 who reported having tested negative.
It found that 59% of those with COVID-19 said that they experienced the loss of smell and taste.
Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.
However, experts commenting on the study noted that more work was necessary to confirm that these sensory impairments could be a sign of COVID-19.
For example, according to Jane Parker, Ph.D., who is an associate professor in flavor chemistry at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, “[t]his paper shows good preliminary (non-peer-reviewed) evidence that loss of smell and taste is likely to be a symptom of COVID-19, but its role as an early warning signal has not been confirmed.”
However, now, a new study that appears in the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology seems to confirm that a significant number of people with COVID-19 experience loss of smell and taste as symptoms.
In the present study, researchers from the University of California (UC) San Diego Health in La Jolla evaluated data from 1,480 individuals who presented with influenza‐like symptoms and underwent testing for COVID‐19 between March 3 and March 29, 2020. All of these tests took place at UC San Diego Health.
The final analyses referred to information that 262 people provided, including 59 of the 102 people who tested positive for COVID-19 and 203 of the 1,378 who tested negative.
In general, the participants with COVID-19 had a mild form of the disease, and most of them did not require hospitalization.
Among the individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, 68% experienced loss of smell, and 71% exp