New research aims to quantify a life-altering aftereffect of covid-19: a lingering loss of smell, also known as anosmia, Gizmodo reports. The study estimates that up to 1.6 million people in the U.S. have experienced chronic anosmia lasting at least six months following their coronavirus infection.

Anosmia can be caused by different things, including respiratory viral infections like covid-19. But it took some time before anosmia was recognized as a clear symptom of covid-19—one that might even be more common among mild cases. Often, this loss of smell is accompanied by a loss of taste, the two senses being closely dependent on each other. Sometimes, people can also experience parosmia, or a distorted sense of smell that can cause everyday scents to smell like trash, sewage, or other putrid odors.

Studies have estimated that anywhere from 30% to 80% of covid-19 sufferers can develop some level of anosmia. But research has indicated that most (upwards of 90%) regain their sniffer sense in as little as two weeks, possibly because the infection tends not to damage the olfactory nerve itself but the cells supporting it. Since so many people have contracted covid-19 in the U.S, though, even a relatively rare complication like long-term anosmia can still affect plenty of people.

This new study, published Thursday in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, seems to be one of the first to try gauging the toll of chronic covid-related anosmia in the U.S. The authors were compelled to study the issue after seeing many of these patients in their clinics.

There have been many direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic, from millions of covid-19 deaths to the resurgence of other diseases. But permanent anosmia may be one of the most distinct lifelong consequences of infection. A recent study by French researchers this month even found that anosmia may be the long-term symptom most likely to be associated with a lab-confirmed case of covid-19. Long after the pandemic has faded away, many people will no longer be able to enjoy certain basic pleasures of life, like a delicious meal or the familiar scents of loved ones. Gizmodo

{Matzav.com}