Multi-level comparison of congenital and acquired anosmia

Abstract

Introduction: Anosmia is the loss of the ability to detect one or more smells which can affect 3–20% of the population. The disorder divides into two types: congenital and acquired. Aim: The objective of the study is to demonstrate the differences in social adaptation, quality of life and clinical features between patients with congenital and acquired anosmia. Material and methods: Survey that contained questions about the quality of life, taste disorders, genesis of anosmia, perception from the trigeminal nerve, etc. was provided at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic thus the vast majority of patients did not suffer from COVID-19 at that time. People affected by hyposmia were removed from our research. A level of P < 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: A total of 331 patients completed the survey. Patients with acquired anosmia rated their quality of life lower than patients with congenital anosmia in EQ-VAS. As many as 44.6% of people with acquired anosmia claimed that their quality of life decreased mainly in the aspect of feeling pleasure, whereas 40.7% of people with congenital anosmia claimed that none of the aspects of their life decreased. Taste disorders rarely occur in the group of people with congenital anosmia in comparison to the group of people with acquired anosmia (11.5% vs 38.7%). Trigeminal nerve dysfunction two times more often accompanies acquired anosmia than congenital anosmia. Conclusion: People with acquired anosmia tolerate anosmia worse than people with congenital anosmia. Congenital anosmia significantly differs from acquired anosmia. More research in the field of anosmia needs to be conducted.