High prevalence of long-term olfactory disorders in healthcare workers after COVID-19: A case-control study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

More than a year after recovering from COVID-19, a large proportion of individuals, many of whom work in the healthcare sector, still report olfactory dysfunctions. However, olfactory dysfunction was common already before the COVID-19 pandemic, making it necessary to also consider the existing baseline prevalence of olfactory dysfunction. To establish the adjusted prevalence of COVID-19 related olfactory dysfunction, we assessed smell function in healthcare workers who had contracted COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic using psychophysical testing.

Methods

Participants were continuously tested for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies since the beginning of the pandemic. To assess the baseline rate of olfactory dysfunction in the population and to control for the p

SUBMITTER: Frasnelli J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11216562 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature