Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments, such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation, and initial results of a multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 distinct chemosensory modalities (smell, taste, and chemesthesis) before and during COVID-19. In the first 11 days after questionnaire launch, 4039 participants (2913 women, 1118 men, and 8 others, aged 19–79) reported a COVID-19 diagnosis either via laboratory tests or clinical assessment. Importantly, smell, taste, and chemesthetic function were each significantly reduced compared to their status before the disease. Difference scores (maximum possible change ±100) revealed a mean reduction of smell (−79.7 ± 28.7, mean ± standard deviation), taste (−69.0 ± 32.6), and chemesthetic (−37.3 ± 36.2) function during COVID-19. Qualitative changes in olfactory ability (parosmia and phantosmia) were relatively rare and correlated with smell loss. Importantly, perceived nasal obstruction did not account for smell loss. Furthermore, chemosensory impairments were similar between participants in the laboratory test and clinical assessment groups. These results show that COVID-19-associated chemosensory impairment is not limited to smell but also affects taste and chemesthesis. The multimodal impact of COVID-19 and the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.

中文翻译：

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不仅仅是嗅觉——COVID-19 与嗅觉、味觉和化学感觉的严重损害有关。

最近的轶事和科学报告提供了 COVID-19 与化学感觉障碍（如嗅觉障碍）之间存在联系的证据。然而，这些报告轻描淡写或未能区分对味道的潜在影响，忽视化学反应，并且通常缺乏定量测量。在这里，我们报告了多语种国际问卷的开发、实施和初步结果，以评估 COVID-19 之前和期间自我报告的 3 种不同化学感应方式（气味、味道和化学感受）的感知数量和质量。在问卷发布后的前 11 天内，4039 名参与者（2913 名女性、1118 名男性和其他 8 人，年龄在 19-79 岁之间）通过实验室测试或临床评估报告了 COVID-19 诊断。重要的是，嗅觉、味觉、与疾病前的状态相比，化学功能和化学功能均显着降低。差异分数（最大可能变化 ±100）显示在 COVID-19 期间嗅觉（-79.7 ± 28.7，平均值 ± 标准差）、味觉（-69.0 ± 32.6）和化学（-37.3 ± 36.2）功能的平均减少。嗅觉能力（嗅觉和幻觉）的质量变化相对罕见，并且与嗅觉丧失相关。重要的是，感知到的鼻塞并不能解释嗅觉丧失。此外，实验室测试组和临床评估组的参与者之间的化学感应障碍相似。这些结果表明，与 COVID-19 相关的化学感觉障碍不仅限于气味，还会影响味觉和化学感觉。