Rhinology
August 1, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Relationship between olfactory function and quality of life in COVID-19 patients.
Winkelmann S, Nasr MA, Korth A, +17 more, Study Group N.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
A simple 5-item self-report questionnaire effectively screened for smell loss after COVID-19, and persistent smell loss was linked to poorer quality of life.
What was studied
A population-based cross-sectional study of 667 adults examined about nine months after PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, using Sniffin' Sticks, visual analogue scales, the self-MOQ questionnaire and several quality-of-life instruments.
Key findings
- Self-MOQ and Sniffin' Sticks diagnoses of olfactory dysfunction were strongly correlated
- TDI and subjective VAS scores correlated negatively with self-MOQ scores
- Participants with tested olfactory dysfunction had significantly reduced quality of life across four questionnaires
Clinical relevance
Supports the self-MOQ as a practical screening tool after COVID-19; cross-sectional data cannot show how smell loss and quality of life change over time.
Who should care
Limitations
Cross-sectional design; screening accuracy metrics are not reported in the abstract.
A brief questionnaire can flag post-COVID smell loss, which meaningfully affects quality of life.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Background
COVID-19 is associated with multiple long-term impairments that negatively affect patients' quality of life (QoL). Of these, olfactory dysfunction (OD), which is difficult to measure in practice, is likely to play an important role as it highly affects peoples’ QoL.
Methods
In a population-based study, a total of 667 adult participants (mean age: 47 years) were examined nine months, on average, after positive PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2. Subjective olfactory function (OF) was quantified by means of a Visual Analogue Scales (OF-VAS). OF was tested by way of the Sniffin’ Sticks Test (SST). The self-reported Mini Olfactory Questionnaire (self-MOQ) was used to screen for OD. The brief (short) version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders - Negative Statements (sQOD-NS), the sinonasal outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22), the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L), and the EuroQoL-VAS (EQVAS) were used to assess QoL.
Results
Participants with SST-tested OD or with OF-VAS-based subjective OD were characterized by significantly higher self-MOQ scores. Diagnoses of OD by self-MOQ or SST were found to be strongly correlated. Moreover, both the TDI score and the OF-VAS score were negatively correlated with the self-MOQ score. In addition to a significant reduction of QoL in participants with tested OD, the four questionnaires used in the present study also consistently highlighted a significant negative correlation between QoL and both, self-MOQ and OF-VAS score.
Conclusion
The self-MOQ is a sufficient screening tool for OD after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients with persistent OD show signi-ficantly poorer QoL than those without.
Clinical implications
Olfactory function can be assessed in patients with COVID-19 using a simple 5-item questionnaire (self-MOQ). Patients with OD show reduced QoL.
Capsule summary
In our population-based cross-sectional study of 667 patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, par-ticipants with persistent OD had significantly poorer OF-related QoL. The self-MOQ is a simple, valid and reliable means to screen OD in patients with COVID-19.
DOI
10.4193/rhin24.174
PMID
41989257
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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