Diagnosed and subjectively perceived long-term effects of COVID-19 infection on olfactory function assessed by supervised machine learning
Language English Country Great Britain, England Media print
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Grant support
612/16-1
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
PubMed
38213039
DOI
10.1093/chemse/bjad051
PII: 7517132
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- COVID-19, data science, deep neural networks, human olfaction, machine learning, olfactory testing,
- MeSH
- Anosmia diagnosis etiology MeSH
- Smell MeSH
- COVID-19 * MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Olfaction Disorders * diagnosis MeSH
- Supervised Machine Learning MeSH
- RNA, Viral MeSH
- SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Names of Substances
- RNA, Viral MeSH
Loss of olfactory function is a typical acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptom, at least in early variants of SARS-CoV2. The time that has elapsed since the emergence of COVID-19 now allows for assessing the long-term prognosis of its olfactory impact. Participants (n = 722) of whom n = 464 reported having had COVID-19 dating back with a mode of 174 days were approached in a museum as a relatively unbiased environment. Olfactory function was diagnosed by assessing odor threshold and odor identification performance. Subjects also rated their actual olfactory function on an 11-point numerical scale [0,…10]. Neither the frequency of olfactory diagnostic categories nor olfactory test scores showed any COVID-19-related effects. Olfactory diagnostic categories (anosmia, hyposmia, or normosmia) were similarly distributed among former patients and controls (0.86%, 18.97%, and 80.17% for former patients and 1.17%, 17.51%, and 81.32% for controls). Former COVID-19 patients, however, showed differences in their subjective perception of their own olfactory function. The impact of this effect was substantial enough that supervised machine learning algorithms detected past COVID-19 infections in new subjects, based on reduced self-awareness of olfactory performance and parosmia, while the diagnosed olfactory function did not contribute any relevant information in this context. Based on diagnosed olfactory function, results suggest a positive prognosis for COVID-19-related olfactory loss in the long term. Traces of former infection are found in self-perceptions of olfaction, highlighting the importance of investigating the long-term effects of COVID-19 using reliable and validated diagnostic measures in olfactory testing.
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