Breaking

COVID-19 lingering loss of taste or smell may be explained by genetics, study finds - Fox News
Jan 21, 2022 1 min, 52 secs

The mystery of why people infected with COVID-19 lose their taste or smell may lie in a genetic risk factor, according to a recent study published in Nature Genetics.

Researchers from 23andMe, a genomics and biotechnology company, analyzed data from 69,841 individuals in the United States and United Kingdom who took online surveys after having a positive COVID-19 test, comparing those who reported a loss of taste or smell with those who did not.

Among those who tested positive for COVID-19, 68% participants reported a loss of taste or smell, the female respondents were 11% more likely than men to report the symptoms and approximately 73% were ages 26-35, per the study.

The study also found the loss of taste or smell was more common among those with a COVID-19 test compared to those who tested negative but reported cold-flu like symptoms, noting those of East Asian or African American ancestry were significantly less likely to report the loss of smell or taste compared to individuals of European ancestry.

The research team compared the genetic differences of those who reported a loss of taste or smell with those who didn’t, finding a location near two genes, UGT2A1 and UGT2A2, to be related to the sense of smell that is associated with the loss of taste and smell after being infected with COVID-19.

Even though past animal studies showed these genes, which are expressed in the tissue in our nose, are involved in the elimination of ‘odorants’ and previous experimental studies suggest the loss of smell is related to tissue damage along the lining of the nose, the authors concede it’s unclear how the genes are actually involved, only that they " … may play a role in the physiology of infected cells and the resulting functional impairment that contributes to loss of ability to smell.".

"Notably, the [gene] variant identified in this study also appears to be associated with general ability to smell, which may suggest that those with heightened smell or taste sensitivity may be more prone to notice a loss of these senses resulting from a SARS-CoV-2 infection," the authors said.

Reed studies the person-to-person differences in the loss of taste and smell as a result of COVID-19, but was not part of the study

RECENT NEWS

SUBSCRIBE

Get monthly updates and free resources.

CONNECT WITH US

© Copyright 2024 365NEWSX - All RIGHTS RESERVED