COVID-19 Related Chemosensory Changes in Individuals with Self-Reported Obesity

Individuals with obesity show alterations in smell and taste abilities. Smell and taste loss are also the most prominent neurological symptoms of COVID-19, yet how chemosensory ability present in individuals with obesity with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis is unknown.

In this secondary analysis of a cross-sectional global dataset, we compared self-reported chemosensory ability in participants with a respiratory illness reporting a positive (C19+; n = 5156) or a negative (C19-; n = 659) COVID-19 laboratory test outcome, who also self-reported to be obese (C19+; n = 433, C19-; n = 86) or non-obese.

Compared to the C19- group, C19+ exhibited a greater decline in smell, taste, and chemesthesis during illness, though these symptoms did not differ between participants with obesity and without obesity. In 68% of participants who reported recovery from respiratory illness symptoms (n=3431 C19+ and n= 539 C19-), post-recovery chemosensory perception did not differ in C19+ and C19- diagnosis, and by self-reported obesity. Finally, we found that all chemosensory and other symptoms combined predicted the C19+ diagnosis in participants with obesity with a moderately good estimate (63% accuracy). However, in C19+ participants with obesity, we observed a greater relative prevalence of non-chemosensory symptoms, including respiratory as respiratory and GI symptoms.

We conclude that despite a presumed lower sensitivity to chemosensory stimuli, COVID-19 respondents with obesity experience a similar self-reported chemosensory loss as those without obesity, and in both groups self-reported chemosensory symptoms are similarly predictive of COVID-19.