Olfactory Dysfunction in Adults from Rio Grande do Norte: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction  Smell is one of the senses of the human body, and it can be affected by several factors, such as viral infections, traumatic brain injury, iatrogenesis, smoking, and neurodegenerative and systemic diseases. Objectives  The main goal of the present study is to describe the epidemiology of olfactory disorders in Rio Grande do Norte (RN). More specifically, to determine the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction and to identify the main risk factors related to these dysfunctions in the state's population. Methods  A total of 180 volunteers living in the RN underwent the Connecticut Clinical Research Center (CCCRC) smell test and a clinical and demographic questionnaire. Results  A total of 58.89% of the patients presented normosmia and 87.78% were classified as having between normal and mild hyposmia. A statistically significant relationship was found between worse performance in the test and nasal surgery ( p  = 0.041) and the subjective feeling of not having an accurate sense of smell ( p  = 0.006 on the right nostril). There was no statistical relationship between the olfactory status and the report of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection ( p  = 0.254). Conclusion  The occurrence of altered sense of smell in our study was different from that reported in other studies that used the same test. The relationship with COVID-19 was not clear.