Tracking Olfactory Disorders as Early COVID-19 Indicators
Role: data analysis
Collaborators: This study was conducted under the international collaboration of the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR), which includes researchers from multiple institutions such as Université Côte d’Azur, University of Florence, Yale University, University of California Irvine and The Pennsylvania State University.
Scientific Objectives
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of smell emerged as a key symptom of infection. Our research focused on:
- Investigating the link between self-reported olfactory dysfunction and hospital overload.
- Evaluating whether sudden smell and taste loss could serve as early markers of COVID-19 spread.
- Analyzing the effectiveness of government measures by tracking smell and taste disorder trends before and after lockdowns.
Challenges
- Crowdsourced Data Quality: Ensuring the reliability of self-reported symptoms across diverse populations required careful validation and filtering of survey responses.
- Government Policy Variability: Comparing the impact of lockdowns and public health measures on olfactory disorder trends involved addressing significant differences in policy enforcement and healthcare infrastructure.
Contributions
- Demonstrated that self-reported smell and taste changes correlated more strongly with hospital admissions than official government indicators.
- Showed that an increase in smell loss reports preceded peaks in COVID-19 cases, suggesting its utility as an early pandemic marker.
- Highlighted that stricter lockdown measures resulted in faster declines in reported olfactory dysfunction, indicating their effectiveness.
- Developed R scripts for data analysis, available on OSF (Open Science Framework).
Dissemination and Publications
Journal Publications
📄 Denis Pierron, Veronica Pereda-Loth, Marylou Mantel, Maëlle Moranges, Emmanuelle Bignon, Omar Alva, Julie Kabous, Margit Heiske, Jody Pacalon, Renaud David, et al (2020). Smell and taste changes are early indicators of the COVID-19 pandemic and political decision effectiveness. Nature communications.
Scientific Presentations
🎤 Veronica Pereda-Loth, Aldair Martinez, Lenka Tisseyre, Oscar Alva, Julie Kabous, Marylou Mantel, Maëlle Moranges, Emmanuelle Bignon, Margit Heiske, Monique Courtade-Saı̈di, et al (2021). Contribution de l’anthropologie sensorielle à l’étude du COVID-19. Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris. BMSAP.
