Long Covid Impact

According to a study, one-third of long-term Covid patients have permanent smell and test loss.

According to a recent study by the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK, smell loss is one of the most common symptoms of long-term COVID.

According to a recent study, roughly a third of long-term Covid patients experience permanent smell loss and almost a fifth report taste loss as a result of the medication.

 

According to main researcher professor Carl Philpott from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, “Long Covid is a complex illness that develops during or after receiving Covid, and it is characterised as such when symptoms linger for more than 12 weeks.”

 

The research team looked into the prevalence of long-term COVID, in particular symptoms related to the ear, nose, and throat such smell loss and parosmia, which causes odd and frequently unpleasant scent distortions.

 

Headache, myalgia, weariness, and a loss of taste and smell are some of the symptoms. After the initial infection, parosmia can continue for months along with memory loss and brain fog.

According to Philpott, “We wanted to learn more about the prevalence of extended Covid, and in particular, ear, nose, and throat symptoms like smell loss and parosmia.”

In March 2022, the team examined the findings of the UK Coronavirus Infection Survey and conducted an analysis of data from more than 360,000 individuals.

10,431 participants were found to have long-Covid, and they were questioned about the existence of 23 different symptoms and how the illness affected their daily lives.

The term “self-reported long Covid” refers to symptoms that have persisted for more than four weeks following the first coronavirus infection but are not accounted for by any other medical condition.

Nearly 3% of the participants, or about 1.8 million people, self-identified as having lengthy Covid, according to Philpott’s research. If scaled up to match the population of the UK.

The most prevalent symptom was fatigue, whereas ENT-related symptoms included a sore throat, loss of taste and smell, vertigo, shortness of breath, and wheezing.

The researchers observed that “almost a third of self-reported long Covid patients were enduring chronic smell loss, and nearly a fifth were still reporting loss of taste.”

The study, which was conducted by the University of East Anglia in association with the nonprofit organisation “Fifth Sense,” which advocates for people with smell and taste impairments, was published in “International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology.”

A review article by

Dr Bhavna Kalvala (Clinical Research Director @ IEEARC Tech)

 

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