Investigation on the Loss of Taste and Smell and Consequent Psychological Effects: A Cross-Sectional Study on Healthcare Workers Who Contracted the COVID-19 Infection

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between psychological distress and taste and sense of smell dysfunctions on healthcare workers (HCW) who contracted the COVID-19 infection in the midst of the disease outbreak. Reports of sudden loss of taste and smell which persist even after...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inFrontiers in public health Vol. 9; p. 666442
Main Authors Dudine, Luisa, Canaletti, Claudia, Giudici, Fabiola, Lunardelli, Alberta, Abram, Giulia, Santini, Ingrid, Baroni, Vera, Paris, Marta, Pesavento, Valentina, Manganotti, Paolo, Ronchese, Federico, Gregoretti, Barbara, Negro, Corrado
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 28.05.2021
Subjects
Ageusia
COVID-19
Cross-Sectional Studies
Health Personnel
healthcare workers
Humans
psychological distress
Public Health
SARS-CoV-2
Smell
smell loss
Taste
taste disorder
COVID-19
smell loss
taste disorder
psychological distress
healthcare workers
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between psychological distress and taste and sense of smell dysfunctions on healthcare workers (HCW) who contracted the COVID-19 infection in the midst of the disease outbreak. Reports of sudden loss of taste and smell which persist even after recovery from COVID-19 infection are increasingly recognized as critical symptoms for COVID-19 infections. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study on COVID-19 HCW ( = 104) who adhered to respond to a phone semistructured interview addressing the virus symptoms and associated psychological distress. Data were collected from June to September 2020. Findings confirm the association between experienced taste/olfactory loss and emotional distress and suggest that dysfunctions of taste and smell correlate positively with anxiety and depression. Furthermore, their psychological impact tends to persist even after the recovery from the disease, suggesting the need for appropriate psychological interventions to prevent people from developing more serious or long-lasting psychological disorders and, as far as HCW, to reduce the risk of work-related distress.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
These authors share senior authorship
These authors have contributed equally to this work
Reviewed by: Luigi Isaia Lecca, University of Cagliari, Italy; Rafieh Alizadeh, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Maryam Jalessi, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship
This article was submitted to Occupational Health and Safety, a section of the journal Frontiers in Public Health
Edited by: Nicola Mucci, University of Florence, Italy
ISSN:2296-2565
2296-2565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2021.666442