Independent of mental health, chemosensory function independently drives QoL in C19OD. Parosmia, low odor threshold, and patient-reported GD are all associated with poorer QoL at baseline. Longitudinally, the ability to differentiate among odors is an important correlate of improvement of smell-related QoL in C19OD patients, while parosmia is the strongest driver of longitudinal recovery of smell-related QoL in C19OD. Trending domain-specific olfactory performance in C19OD may allow for improved patient counseling and QoL prognosis.
Saak et al. (2026) studied this question.