Assessment of Sensory Function in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project

Abstract

Sensory function is important in studies of aging and health both because it is an important health outcome and also because a decline in functioning can be symptomatic of or predict other health conditions. Although the objective measures provide considerably more precision than the self-report items, the latter can be valuable for imputation of missing data and for understanding differences in how older adults perceive their own sensory ability.

A study about the frequency of taste disorders

“…Schumm et al [24] examined taste function in a social life, health and aging project in the USA in 2,928 subjects using only four taste strips, each strip of the strongest concentration. Correct identification ranged from 39.0% (sour), 67.2% (salty), 69.9% (bitter) to 86.3% for the sweet taste strip.…”

Pathophysiology of the anorexia of aging

“…The enjoyment of food involves its visual presentation, smell, and taste, as well as its ability to relieve hunger. Olfactory function declines most dramatically with age [13]. This is due to a reduction in mucus secretion, thinning of the epithelium, and a decline in the regeneration of olfactory receptor cells [14].…”

Taste Identification in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions

“…This chemical taste test has been used in other clinical conditions such as diabetes, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Alzheimer's disease (Naka et al 2010;Schumm et al 2009;Welge-Lussen et al 2011). Women with ADHD and Bulimia Nervosa for example show average taste identification (Weiland et al 2011).…”