Izquierdo-Domínguez, ARojas-Lechuga, M JChiesa-Estomba, CCalvo-Henríquez, CNinchritz-Becerra, ESoriano-Reixach, MPoletti-Serafini, DVillarreal, I MMaza-Solano, J MMoreno-Luna, RVillarroel, P PMateos-Serrano, BAgudelo, DValcarcel, FDel Cuvillo, ASantamaría, AMariño-Sánchez, FAguilar, JVergés, PInciarte, ASoriano, AMullol, JAlobid, I2023-02-092023-02-092020-06-171018-9068http://hdl.handle.net/10668/15761Since the initial anecdotal reports of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from China, a growing number of studies have reported on smell and/or taste dysfunction (STD). Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate the frequency and severity of STD in COVID-19 patients and to evaluate the association with demographic characteristics, hospital admission, symptoms, comorbidities, and blood biomarkers. We performed a multicenter cross-sectional study on patients who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (n=846) and controls (n=143) from 15 Spanish hospitals. Data on STD were collected prospectively using an in-person survey. The severity of STD was categorized using a visual analog scale. We analyzed time to onset, recovery rate, time to recovery, hospital admission, pneumonia, comorbidities, smoking, and symptoms. STD was at least 2-fold more common in COVID-19-positive patients than in controls. COVID-19-positive hospitalized patients were older, with a lower frequency of STD, and recovered earlier than outpatients. Analysis stratified by severity of STD showed that more than half of COVID-19 patients presented severe loss of smell (53.7%) or taste (52.2%); both senses were impaired in >90%. In the multivariate analysis, older age (>60 years), being hospitalized, and increased C-reactive protein were associated with a better sense of smell and/or taste. COVID-19-positive patients reported improvement in smell (45.6%) and taste (46.1%) at the time of the survey; in 90.6% this was within 2 weeks of infection. STD is a common symptom in COVID-19 and presents mainly in young and nonhospitalized patients. More studies are needed to evaluate follow-up of chemosensory impairment.enCOVID-19Hospital admissionLoss of smellLoss of tasteSARS-CoV-2AdultAge FactorsAgedAged, 80 and overBetacoronavirusCOVID-19Case-Control StudiesCoronavirus InfectionsCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleMiddle AgedOlfaction DisordersPandemicsPneumonia, ViralPolymerase Chain ReactionPublic Health SurveillanceSARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness IndexSpainSymptom AssessmentTaste DisordersYoung Adultresearch article32554337open access10.18176/jiaci.0595http://www.jiaci.org/revistas/doi10.18176_jiaci.0595_material-suppl_1.pdf