%0 Journal Article %A Bagheri, Seyed Hamidreza %A Asghari, Alimohamad %A Farhadi, Mohammad %A Shamshiri, Ahmad Reza %A Kabir, Ali %A Kamrava, Seyed Kamran %A Jalessi, Maryam %A Mohebbi, Alireza %A Alizadeh, Rafieh %A Honarmand, Ali Asghar %A Ghalehbaghi, Babak %A Salimi, Alireza %A Dehghani Firouzabadi, Fatemeh %T Coincidence of COVID-19 epidemic and olfactory dysfunction outbreak in Iran %J Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran %V 34 %N 1 %U http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/article-1-6711-en.html %R 10.47176/mjiri.34.62 %D 2020 %K Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Anosmia, Smell, Hyposmia, Dysgeusia, Taste loss, Gustatory, Olfactory, Olfaction, Infection, ENT, %X Background: The occurrence of anosmia/hyposmia during novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may indicate a relationship between coincidence of olfactory dysfunction and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to assess the frequency of self-reported anosmia/hyposmia during COVID-19 epidemic in Iran. Methods: This population-based cross sectional study was performed through an online questionnaire from March 12 to 17, 2020. Cases from all provinces of Iran voluntarily participated in this study. Patients completed a 33-item patient-reported online questionnaire, including smell and taste dysfunction and their comorbidities, along with their basic characteristics and past medical histories. The inclusion criteria were self-reported anosmia/hyposmia during the past 4 weeks, from the start of COVID-19 epidemic in Iran. Results: A total of 10 069 participants aged 32.5±8.6 (7-78) years took part in this study, of them 71.13% women and 81.68% nonsmokers completed the online questionnaire. The correlation between the number of olfactory disorders and reported COVID-19 patients in all provinces up to March 17, 2020 was highly significant (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.87, P< 0.001). A sudden onset of olfactory dysfunction was reported in 76.24% of the participations and persistent anosmia in 60.90% from the start of COVID-19 epidemic. In addition, 80.38% of participants reported concomitant olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions. Conclusion: An outbreak of olfactory dysfunction occurred in Iran during the COVID-19 epidemic. The exact mechanisms by which anosmia/hyposmia occurred in patients with COVID-19 call for further investigations. %> http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/article-1-6711-en.pdf %P 446-452 %& 446 %! COVID-19 and olfactory dysfunction %9 Original Research %L A-10-520-1 %+ ENT and Head and Neck Research Center and Department, The Five Senses Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran %G eng %@ 1016-1430 %[ 2020