Browsing by Author "Joseph, Paule V."

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    A follow-up on quantitative and qualitative olfactory dysfunction and other symptoms in patients recovering from COVID-19 smell loss
    (ERS, 2022-06-01) Ohla, Kathrin; Veldhuizen, Maria G.; Green, Tomer; Hannum, Mackenzie E.; Bakke, Alyssa J.; Moein, Shima T.; Tognetti, Arnaud; Postma, Elbrich M.; Pellegrino, Robert; Hwang, Daniel Liang-Dar; Albayay, Javier; Koyama, Sachiko; Nolden, Alissa A.; Thomas-Danguin, Thierry; Mucignat-Caretta, Carla; Menger, Nick S.; Croijmans, Ilja; Öztürk, Lina; Yanık, Hüseyin; Pierron, Denis; Pereda-Loth, Veronica; Nunez-Parra, Alexia; Martinez Pineda, Aldair M.; Gillespie, David; Farruggia, Michael C.; Cecchetto, Cinzia; Fornazieri, Marco A.; Philpott, Carl; Voznessenskaya, Vera; Cooper, Keiland W.; Rohlfs Dominguez, Paloma; Calcinoni, Orietta; de Groot, Jasper; Boesveldt, Sanne; Bhutani, Surabhi; Weir, Elisabeth M.; Exten, Cara; Joseph, Paule V.; Parma, Valentina; Hayes, John E.; Niv, Masha Y.; Surgery, School of Medicine
    Background: Sudden smell loss is a specific early symptom of COVID-19, which, prior to the emergence of Omicron, had estimated prevalence of ~40% to 75%. Chemosensory impairments affect physical and mental health, and dietary behavior. Thus, it is critical to understand the rate and time course of smell recovery. The aim of this cohort study was to characterize smell function and recovery up to 11 months post COVID-19 infection. Methods: This longitudinal survey of individuals suffering COVID-19-related smell loss assessed disease symptoms and gustatory and olfactory function. Participants (n=12,313) who completed an initial survey (S1) about respiratory symptoms, chemosensory function and COVID-19 diagnosis between April and September 2020, were invited to complete a follow-up survey (S2). Between September 2020 and February 2021, 27.5% participants responded (n=3,386), with 1,468 being diagnosed with COVID-19 and suffering co-occurring smell and taste loss at the beginning of their illness. Results: At follow-up (median time since COVID-19 onset ~200 days), ~60% of women and ~48% of men reported less than 80% of their pre-illness smell ability. Taste typically recovered faster than smell, and taste loss rarely persisted if smell recovered. Prevalence of parosmia and phantosmia was ~10% of participants in S1 and increased substantially in S2: ~47% for parosmia and ~25% for phantosmia. Persistent smell impairment was associated with more symptoms overall, suggesting it may be a key marker of long-COVID illness. The ability to smell during COVID-19 was rated slightly lower by those who did not eventually recover their pre-illness ability to smell at S2. Conclusions: While smell ability improves for many individuals who lost it during acute COVID-19, the prevalence of parosmia and phantosmia increases substantially over time. Olfactory dysfunction is associated with broader persistent symptoms of COVID-19, and may last for many months following acute COVID-19. Taste loss in the absence of smell loss is rare. Persistent qualitative smell symptoms are emerging as common long-term sequelae; more research into treatment options is strongly warranted given that even conservative estimates suggest millions of individuals may experience parosmia following COVID-19. Healthcare providers worldwide need to be prepared to treat post COVID-19 secondary effects on physical and mental health.
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    Parosmia Is Positively Associated With Problematic Drinking, as Is Phantosmia With Depressive Symptoms
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2024) Agarwal, Khushbu; Luk, Jeremy W.; Stangl, Bethany L.; Schwandt, Melanie L.; Momenan, Reza; Goldman, David; Diazgranados, Nancy; Kareken, David A.; Leggio, Lorenzo; Ramchandani, Vijay A.; Joseph, Paule V.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Objectives: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a global health problem with significant negative consequences, including preventable deaths. Although olfactory dysfunction is associated with chronic alcohol drinking, the relationship among specific types of olfactory deficits, depressive symptoms, and problematic drinking remains to be explored. Here, we examined the prevalence of olfactory distortion (parosmia) and hallucination (phantosmia) and assessed their associations with problematic drinking and depressive symptoms. Methods: In April-June 2022, 250 participants across the spectrum of AUD were recruited for assessment in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Alcohol study. Surveys covered self-reported olfactory function, depressive symptoms, and problematic drinking, with key measures assessed, including the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and the Patient Health Questionnaire. Predictors in the analysis included parosmia and phantosmia, with covariates comprising age, sex, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, COVID-19 infection status, and smoking status. Results: Among 250 individuals, 5.2% experienced parosmia and 4.4% reported phantosmia. Parosmia was associated with higher Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores (β = 7.14; 95% confidence interval = 3.31, 10.96; P < 0.001), whereas phantosmia was linked to higher Patient Health Questionnaire scores (β = 3.32; 95% confidence interval = 0.22, 6.42; P = 0.03). These associations persisted in both the full sample and the subset of participants without COVID-19. Conclusions: Our study highlights strong existing links among olfactory deficits, problem drinking, and depressive symptoms, underscoring the need to assess smell impairments in clinical settings. Future research should explore these connections further to develop new treatments for individuals with AUD and depression.