• Jeong Whun Kim, Seung Cheol Han, Hyung Dong Jo, Sung Woo Cho, and Jin Youp Kim.
• Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2021 Jan 25; 36 (4): e40e40.

BackgroundOlfactory and gustatory dysfunction are frequently reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the reported prevalence of olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction varies widely, and the reason for the inter-study differences is unclear. Hence, in this meta-analysis, we performed subgroup analyses to investigate the factors that contribute to the inter-study variability in the prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction.MethodsOut of 943 citations, we included 55 eligible studies with 13,527 patients with COVID-19 for a meta-analysis. Calculating the data extracted from each study, the weighted summary prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction was estimated using a Freeman-Tukey transformation with models based on random-effects assumptions. A meta-analysis of variance compared the prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction according to regional, chronological, demographic, and methodologic factors, respectively.ResultsThe overall pooled prevalence rates of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were 51.4% and 47.5%, respectively, in the random-effect model. In subgroup analyses, the prevalence rates of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were significantly different among four geographical regions (both P < 0.001, respectively). Although the prevalence rates of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction did not significantly differ according to the time of enrollment, the subgroup analyses including only studies from the same geographical region (Europe) revealed a significant difference in olfactory dysfunction according to the time of enrollment.ConclusionThe regional and chronological differences in the prevalence rates of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions partly explain the wide inter-study variability.© 2021 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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