A Study on the Relationship between Type 2 Diabetes and Taste Function in Patients with Good Glycemic Control

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has a very high impact on quality of life as it is characterized by disabling complications. There is little evidence about taste alterations in diabetes. Since many individual factors are involved in the onset of diabetes, the purpose of our study is to search a possible link between diabetes and individual taste function. Thirty-two participants with T2DM and 32 volunteers without T2DM (healthy controls) were recruited. Four concentrations of each of the four basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter), and pure rapeseed oil and water, were applied with cotton pads to the protruded tongue, immediately posterior to its first third, either to the left or right side. The results showed significant differences between groups in the ability to recognize sour, bitter, sweet, and water. Taste scores were lower in subjects with T2DM than in healthy controls, and an age-related decline in taste function was found. The taste function reduction associated with T2DM was not related to gender, disease duration, and glycemic control. In conclusion, it can be hypothesized that a general alteration of taste function can lead patients with type 2 diabetes to search for foods richer in sugars, as in a vicious circle, thus decreasing the likelihood of remission of diabetes mellitus.

Effect of physiological factors, pathologies, and acquired habits on the sweet taste threshold: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…In the euglycemia state, T1R2 expression in humans increased in both healthy and diabetic subjects after intraduodenal glucose infusion, whereas during hyperglycemia, lower T1R2 expression was observed in healthy controls, and in diabetics there were no variations (Young et al., 2009). More recently, one study performed in 2020 reported significant differences in the ability to recognize sweet taste between T2DM patients and healthy controls, independently of their sex, glycemic control, and time since diagnosis (Pugnaloni et al., 2020).…”

Hepatic-Metabolite-Based Intermittent Fasting Enables a Sustained Reduction in Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

“…Food choices for a molecular dietary pattern developing an insulin-resistant metabolic state Compared to normal glycemic adults, adults with Type 2 Diabetes make different food choices, favoring a high saturated fat diet with higher total fat and protein and less fiber, as reported by Breen et al [50]. Increased insulin resistance favors continued unhealthy food choices via aberrant central insulin action, as reported by Tiedemann et al [51], leading to a vicious cycle in which insulin resistance drives changes in taste perception, as observed by Pugnaloni et al [52], leading to continued eating and snacking behavior. Saturated fat increases intramuscular triglycerides, and a decreased intake of saturated fatty acids could be beneficial in reducing intramuscular triglycerides and the associated risk of diabetes, according to data from Luukkonen et al [53].…”

The Clinical Value of Nutritional Care before and during Active Cancer Treatment

“…A number of possible methods to prevent, attenuate or cure this side-effect have been recently reviewed [ 41 ]. Taste and smell alterations may also be caused by chemotherapy regimens, particularly in previous smokers, females or in head and neck cancer patients, and may contribute to malnutrition [ 42 , 43 ]. Apart from epithelial damages, chemotherapy-induces changes in the expression of specific genes that have been linked to dysgeusia and to mild/moderate stomatitis [ 44 ].…”