■COVID-19已成为由冠状病毒2(SARS-CoV2)引起的公共卫生紧急情况。然而,只有少数研究报告说,嗅觉缺失是COVID-19的早期预测因子。因此,本研究旨在评估COVID-19时代沙特社区对嗅觉功能障碍的现有知识水平.
■使用沙特阿拉伯的调查猴子进行了一项在线调查。该调查通过Twitter和WhatsApp分发。问卷包括个人人口统计信息,比如性,年龄,residence,收入,和资格,以及他们对COVID-19早期症状的了解。采用方差分析和Mann-WhitneyU检验对数据进行分析。通过五点李克特量表评估了12项知识维度。
■总共,809名受访者完成了问卷。其中,658人(81.3%)不知道嗅觉的突然丧失或改变是COVID-19的唯一症状。然而,大多数参与者,738(91.2%),知道发烧是COVID-19的症状。同样,707名(87.4%)和772名(95.5%)参与者分别知道咳嗽和呼吸急促是COVID-19的主要症状。此外,395名(48.3%)参与者没有关于味觉变化作为COVID-19症状的信息。值得注意的是,参与者是女性,已婚,或被诊断为COVID-19的人对COVID-19引起的气味相关问题的认识明显高于男性,未婚,和健康/没有COVID-19的人。
■这项研究表明,沙特人口对常见COVID-19症状的知识水平相当高,因为90%以上的参与者了解COVID-19的症状,但对嗅觉和味觉功能障碍的知识较少,因为80%以上的参与者不了解嗅觉和味觉功能的变化是由COVID-19引起的。
COVID-19 has emerged as a public health emergency caused by the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). However, only a few studies have reported that anosmia is an early predictor of COVID-19. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the current level of knowledge regarding smell dysfunction in COVID-19 era in Saudi community.
An online survey was conducted using Survey Monkeys in Saudi Arabia. The survey was distributed through Twitter and WhatsApp. The questionnaire included individuals\' demographic information, such as sex, age, residence, income, and qualifications, as well as their knowledge of the early symptoms of COVID-19. ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U-test were conducted to analyze the data. There were twelve items on knowledge dimensions which were assessed through five-point Likert scale.
In total, 809 respondents completed the questionnaire. Among them, 658 (81.3%) had no knowledge of how sudden loss of or change in the sense of smell can be the only symptom of COVID-19. However, most participants, 738 (91.2%), knew that fever was a symptom of COVID-19. Similarly, 707 (87.4%) and 772 (95.5%) participants knew that cough and shortness of breath were the major symptoms of COVID-19, respectively. In addition, 395 (48.3%) participants had no information regarding taste changes as a symptom of COVID-19. Notably, participants who were female, married, or diagnosed with COVID-19 had significantly greater knowledge of smell-related issues due to COVID-19 than males, unmarried, and healthy/those without COVID-19.
This study revealed that the Saudi population has an fairly good level of knowledge regarding common COVID-19 symptoms as more than 90% of the participants understood symptoms of COVID-19, but less acceptable knowledge regarding smell and taste dysfunction as more than 80% had no knowledge of change in olfactory and taste function was due to COVID-19.