Expectation as a Risk for Covid-19-Related Olfactory Changes: Observations From the California Farmworkers Health...

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Public health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Patient-reported outcomes are crucial in medical and public health research.
• The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic saw widespread reports of smell and taste alterations.
• Patient awareness of a diagnosis can influence their symptom reporting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of patient awareness on reporting smell and taste changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To quantify the impact of prior knowledge on self-reported olfactory and gustatory symptoms in COVID-19 patients.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Rubin Model for causal inference.
• Analyzed data from a California Department of Public Health survey of farmworker health.
• Estimated the proportion of patients whose reported symptoms were influenced by their COVID-19 diagnosis awareness.

Main Results:

• Approximately 56.5% of infected patients reporting olfactory changes post-COVID-19 diagnosis may not have reported these changes without awareness of their infection.
• Similar findings were observed for COVID-19-related changes in the sense of taste.
• Patient awareness significantly impacts the reporting of sensory changes during a pandemic.

Conclusions:

• A substantial portion of reported smell and taste changes during the early COVID-19 pandemic may be attributable to patient awareness rather than direct viral effects.
• This underscores the importance of considering psychological and cognitive factors in interpreting patient-reported outcomes.
• Future research should account for the potential influence of prior knowledge on symptom reporting in infectious disease studies.