Around 23% of adults who recovered from COVID-19 reported that their sense of taste had either just partially recovered or had not recovered at all after the illness, according to a new study.
This research, published June 2 in The Laryngoscope journal, focused on existing COVID-19 data.
Included were findings from the 2021 Adult National Health Interview Survey as well as demographic and survey-specific module data concerning COVID-19 diagnoses, testing and disease severity, and data quantifying disturbances and eventual recovery of smell and taste.
Most of the 35.8 million adults diagnosed with the viral infection in 2021 who were covered in the study experienced dysfunction related to their sense of taste and smell. Previously, Audacy reported that some diagnosed with COVID developed a condition that made food taste and smell like garbage.
Among those covered by the recent study, 20.6% reported that they had only partially recovered their sense of taste and 2.6% said that hadn’t recovered it at all, meaning that around 8 million people are still dealing with COVID-related taste issues. Even more people (24.1%) said they had partially recovered their sense of smell and 3.7% said they hadn’t recovered it at all.
While the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic emergency ended last month, lingering effects from the pandemic continue to impact everything from the economy to health. Last week, Audacy station KCBS Radio reported on cases of “long COVID” that can include continued exhaustion and other symptoms after COVID infections.
“Our results are useful for providers counseling patients and suggest that interventions lessening overall COVID-19 symptom burden may prevent prolonged sensory dysfunction,” said authors of The Laryngoscope study.
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