en Neurology Neurology Review Article Review Article <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:13.8pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Background</span></i></b><i><span style="color:blue">:</span></i> COVID-19 developed a sudden onset of smelling disorders. Researchers used self-reported or special tests to study this issue. We aimed to investigate whether quantitative-test smell disorders have a considerable difference from self-reported or not.</span><br> <span style="line-height:13.8pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Methods:</span></i></b> We searched 554 studies published between December 2019 to September 2020 by the PICO model. Our search strategies were based on MeSH terms in the electronic databases Web of Science (136 articles), Scopus (84 articles), and PubMed (334 articles). The duplicated articles were excluded, then the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidance were utilized. Finally, we divided the studies into two (self-report (33 articles) and specific-test (9 articles)) groups.</span><br> <span style="line-height:13.8pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Results:</span></i></b> 33 (80%) articles expressed olfactory dysfunction by self-report of patients and 9(20%) studies were conducted by a specific test. Only three studies, one in self-report; ((internal reliability, Cronbach &alpha; = 0.84) and validity (r = &ndash;0.60, p < 0.001)) and two in specific-test groups; ((test-retest r=0.94) and another study (test-retest r >0.7)) conducted validity and reliability. Self-reported studies published a various range of prevalence (20% _97%) in patients with COVID-19. COVID-19 patients with a specific-test group were found to have a primary incidence of anosmia of over 65%, even reaching 98% depending on the types of tests.</span><br> <span style="line-height:13.8pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Conclusion</span></i></b><i><span style="color:blue">:</span></i> Self-reporting of COVID-19 detection can be affected by sociodemographic factors. Although self-reported questionnaires are economical and easy to use, standardized tests provide more reliable comparisons and professional assessments. Therefore, standardized tests are recommended for more accurate screening over self-reporting.<b><i><span style="color:blue"></span></i></b></span></span></span><br> &nbsp; Anosmia, COVID-19, Smell, SARS-CoV-2 37 46 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1466-11&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Elham Sahebalzamani elhamsaheb1377@gmail.com 100319475328460050475 100319475328460050475 No Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Shayan alijanpour sh.alijanpour@mubabol.ac.ir 100319475328460050476 100319475328460050476 No Students Scientific Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Payam Saadat Sepanta1968@yahoo.com 100319475328460050477 100319475328460050477 Yes Mobility Impairment Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, I.R. Iran