Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39987009›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Characteristics of patients with COVID-19 and smell and/or taste disorders depending on different virus strains: a cross-sectional study in Hiroshima, Japan.

Yumeka Ota, Yui Yumiya, Odgerel Chimed-Ochir, Aya Hasegawa, Takahito Yoshida, Tatsuhiro Nagata, Junko Tanaka, Hiroki Ohge, Masao Kuwabara, Tatsuhiko Kubo

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. A Cross-Sectional Study Exploring Patient Experiences, Unmet Needs and Desired Support in Those With Olfactory Dysfunction.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Taste dysfunction in Long COVID.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yumeka OtaDepartment of Public Health and Health Policy,Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-3210-1346
Yui YumiyaDepartment of Public Health and Health Policy,Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan yumiya@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3198-835X
Odgerel Chimed-OchirDepartment of Public Health and Health Policy,Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Aya HasegawaDepartment of Public Health and Health Policy,Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Takahito YoshidaDepartment of Public Health and Health Policy,Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Tatsuhiro NagataDepartment of Public Health and Health Policy,Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Junko TanakaMedical Policy Office, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Hiroki OhgeDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
Masao KuwabaraHiroshima Prefectural Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hiroshima, Japan.
Tatsuhiko KuboDepartment of Public Health and Health Policy,Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe purpose of the study is to compare the prevalence and associated risk factors of smell and/or taste disorders depending on different virus strains in Hiroshima, Japan.

designA cross-sectional design was used. SETTING AND

participantsData were collected for all COVID-19-confirmed inpatients admitted to 27 hospitals in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan, between 8 April 2020 and 31 January 2023.

main outcome measuresSmell and/or taste disorders were indicated by physicians on Hiroshima prefecture COVID-19 version J-SPEED forms completed at discharge.

resultsThe COVID-19 data from this period corresponds to the following four strains: Wild-dominant, Alpha-dominant, Delta-dominant and Omicron-dominant. A total of 11 353 confirmed cases were analysed and 1261 cases (11.11%) were reported for smell and/or taste disorders.Among patients with Wild-dominant, 241 out of 1141 cases (21.12%) exhibited smell and/or taste disorders. For Alpha, 223 out of 1265 cases (17.63%), for Delta, 480 out of 1516 cases (31.66%) and for Omicron, 317 out of 7431 cases (4.27%) presented with smell and/or taste disorders. For all four variants, age<65 (Wild: adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=2.66, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.82-3.88; Alpha:aOR=2.00, 95%CI:1.39-2.88; Delta: aOR=2.42, 95%CI:1.54-3.81; Omicron: aOR=1.84, 95%CI:1.40-2.42) were related to smell and/or taste disorders. For the Wild and Delta variants, higher odds of reporting smell and/or taste disorders were found among wmen (Wild:aOR=1.63, 95%CI:1.20-2.22; Delta: aOR=1.41, 95%CI:1.10- 1.80).

conclusionsThe proportion of patients with smell and/or taste disorders varied significantly depending on the virus strain. Our findings indicate that the Delta-dominant period had the highest number of patients with these disorders, while the Omicron-dominant period had the lowest. Moreover, our study identified risk factors for smell and/or taste disorders for each variant.

Indexed as

COVID-19Olfaction DisordersSARS-CoV-2Taste DisordersAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceRisk FactorsCOVID-19EpidemiologyPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromePost-Infectious DisordersPublic healthVaccination

Identifiers

PMID39987009
PMCPMC11848663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.