DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6wwpzgn3c
title: Data related to the olfactory evaluation of leprosy patients

description: Background: The effect of leprosy on the sense of smell is not yet fully
 established. Studies that have relied only on patients’ perceptions may
 have under- or over-estimated the change in smell perception. A validated
 and psychophysical method is necessary to avoid these errors in
 assessment. Objectives: This study aimed to validate the existence of
 olfactory involvement in leprosy patients. Methods: A cross-sectional,
 controlled study was conducted, in which individuals with leprosy (exposed
 individuals) and individuals without leprosy (control patients) were
 recruited. For each exposed individual, we selected two control patients.
 A total of 108 patients (72 control patients and 36 exposed individuals)
 with no history of infection with the new coronavirus (COVID-19) took the
 University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test(UPSIT). Results: Most
 exposed individuals had olfactory dysfunction [n = 33, 91.7% (CI 95%:
 77.5%–98.3%)] when compared with the control patients [n = 28, 38.9% (CI
 95%: 27.6%-51.1%)], but only two (5.6%) had olfactory complaints. The
 olfactory function was significantly worse among exposed individuals
 [UPSIT leprosy = 25.2 (CI 95%: 23.1–27.3) when compared with the UPSIT
 control patients = 34.1 (CI 95%: 33.0–35.3); p&lt;0.001]. The risk of
 olfactory loss was higher among the exposed individuals [OR: 19.5 (CI 95%:
 5.18–105.70; p&lt; 0.001)]. Conclusions: Olfactory dysfunction was
 highly prevalent among exposed individuals, although they had little or no
 self-knowledge of the disorder. The results show that it is important to
 assess the sense of smell in exposed individuals.
description: A cross-sectional, controlled study was conducted, in which
 individuals with leprosy (exposed individuals) and individuals without
 leprosy (control patients) were recruited. For each exposed individual
 (new cases sampled at the time of diagnosis and existing cases undergoing
 MDT), we selected two control patients. The study was conducted through
 non-probabilistic convenience sampling, which means that all cases of
 leprosy in the city of Londrina-PR, from  a period of 13 months betwen
 2021-2022, were included in the study, provided that they met the
 inclusion/exclusion criteria and that the patients involved agreed to
 participate. A signed consent form was obtained from all patients before
 participation. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee in Research
 Involving Human Beings at the State University of Londrina, CAAE:
 42159420.0.0000.523. We excluded patients aged under 18 years, those who
 had olfactory disease caused by traumatic brain injury, radiation therapy
 to the face, and post-airway infection dysfunctions (including COVID-19),
 and those who did not understand the procedures involved in the test (16
 individuals in all). For data collection, patients were asked to fill out
 a form and medical information was retrieved from their electronic medical
 records. A test with 40 odors, namely the University of Pennsylvania Smell
 Identification Test (UPSIT), was conducted to assess the olfactory
 function. Each participant was given 4 booklets with 10 substances, which
 they had to scrape and sniff, before identifying them by marking an option
 from among four alternatives. They had to choose one (see supplementary
 material). The UPSIT value ranged from 0 to 40, based on the number of
 correct answers, classifying the olfactory function of the individual as
 normosmia, hyposmia, anosmia, or possible simulator. This categorization
 differed when applied to men and women, wherein the latter presented
 greater olfactory acuity. We performed Fisher's Exact Test to compare
 categorical variables. Continuous variables were analyzed using the
 Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney Test. After verifying the normality of the
 quantitative variables using the Shapiro-Wilk test, the nonparametric
 Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the results
 obtained. Spearman's nonparametric correlation test was used to
 verify the relationship between discrete quantitative variables. A
 comparison of the risk of olfactory loss between the exposed and control
 groups was carried out using logistic regression. We considered the values
 of statistical significance (p-value) under 0.05. The 95% confidence
 interval was calculated. All data were compiled in an Excel spreadsheet
 for further statistical analysis.
description: Stata (version 13.0, Statacorp Texas), Jamovi, and R studio were
 used for statistical analysis.