Association between underweight and taste sensitivity in middle‐ to old‐aged nursing home residents in Sri Lanka: a cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Low taste sensitivity may be one factor related to undernutrition, which is a major problem in developing countries. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between underweight, one indicator of undernutrition, and taste sensitivity in middle- to old-aged Sri Lankan nursing home residents. Participants were 946 residents with BMI of <25·0 from 25 nursing homes. Data were obtained on height, weight, taste sensitivity, subjective taste ability, sex, age, ethnicity, number of years in nursing homes, activities of daily living (ADL), frequency of exercise, bowel movements, smoking status, drinking status, current number of chronic diseases, number and kinds of medications used, self-reporting questionnaire 20 (SRQ20), subjective smell ability, number of teeth present, Eichner index and flow rate of saliva. Low sensitivity to bitter taste, being male, old age, low ADL, smoking experience, drinking experience, fewer medications used and no use of medication for hypertension and diabetes were each associated with underweight (P < 0·05). In a multilevel Poisson regression model adjusted for sex, age, ADL, smoking status, drinking status, number of medications used, use of medication for hypertension and diabetes and flow rate of saliva, subjects with low sensitivity (>0·003% quinine hydrochloride dihydrate) to bitter taste had a significant 1·70 times higher prevalence ratio (95% confident interval 1·04-2·80) for underweight compared with those with high sensitivity (0·0001% quinine hydrochloride dihydrate). These results suggest that low taste sensitivity to bitter taste may be one factor related to underweight.

Nonlinear association between chemosensory dysfunction and body mass index

“…Previous work also suggested that an underweight status was associated with impaired bitter identification in middle‐ to old‐aged nursing home residents (Fuchida et al, 2013), which are in contrast to the present result that the underweight group exhibited a higher proportion of impaired salty identification. On the one hand, the present subjects came from a Smell and Taste clinic, and their age ranged from 18 to 95, which is different from the previous study.…”

“…Previous work also suggested that an underweight status was associated with impaired bitter identification in middle-to old-aged nursing home residents (Fuchida et al, 2013), which are in contrast to the present result that the underweight group exhibited a higher…”

“…The present study compared taste scores between different BMI degrees and confirmed their nonlinear relationship. On the one hand, normal gustatory function is needed for normal intake of food and healthy nutrition, and gustatory dysfunction may lead to poor appetite and malnutrition (Fuchida et al, 2013).…”

“…Previous studies suggested that decreased taste sensitivity is related to increased BMI (Vignini et al, 2019) and that individuals with obesity exhibited significant change of taste preference (Hardikar, Hchenberger, Villringer, & Ohla, 2016; Pepino, Finkbeiner, Beauchamp, & Mennella, 2010) and a higher electrogustometry threshold (Park et al, 2015). Interestingly, underweight individuals were also associated with poor appetite and low taste sensitivity to bitter taste (Fuchida et al, 2013). However, previous evidence does not consistently support the notion that obese individuals have altered taste sensitivity, or associates taste‐specific impairment with obesity (Ribeiro & Oliveira‐Maia, 2021).…”

Using Animal Models to Determine the Role of Gustatory Neural Input in the Control of Ingestive Behavior and the Maintenance of Body Weight

“…Research has suggested that taste perception is impaired during normal aging (Bartoshuk 1989; Boesveldt et al 2011; Cowart 1989; Heft and Robinson 2010; Methven et al 2012; Mojet et al 2001; Murphy 1993; Schiffman 1997; Stevens 1996), even more so in hospitalized older adults (Solemdal et al 2014; Toffanello et al 2013). Taste loss may be one of several factors contributing to poor appetite, reduced dietary intake, and weight loss in elderly patients (Chen et al 2001; Fuchida et al 2013; Schiffman and Graham 2000; Schiffman and Wedral 1996; Ship et al 1996). Lastly, patients whose primary complaint is taste loss have also shown nutritional abnormalities (Malaty and Malaty 2013; Mattes and Cowart 1994; Mattes-Kulig and Henkin 1985).…”