Genetic Link for Loss of Sense of Smell?

One of the symptoms of COVID-19 is the loss of the sense of smell. There appears to be some evidence that this symptom is genetic. From an article in medRxiv (preprint):

Loss of sense of smell is a characteristic symptom of infection with SARS-CoV-2. However, specific mechanisms linking infection with loss of smell are poorly understood. Using self-reported symptom data from the 23andMe COVID-19 study, we describe the demographic patterns associated with COVID-19 related anosmia, and find the symptom is more often reported in women and younger respondents, and less often by those of East Asian and African American ancestry compared to those of European ancestry. We ran a trans-ethnic genome-wide association study (GWAS) comparing loss of smell or taste (n=47,298) with no loss of smell or taste (n=22,543) among those with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. We identified an association (rs7688383) in the vicinity of the UGT2A1 and UGT2A2 genes (OR=1.115, p-value=4×10−15), which have been linked to olfactory function. These results may shed light on the biological mechanisms underlying COVID-19 related anosmia.

The variant occurs very slightly more frequently in those of European descent but the relation between the variant and anosomia in COVID-19 appears to be pretty constant.