Predictors of Taste Dysfunction and Its Severity Among Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often complain of taste dysfunction. The prevalent taste dysfunction among patients with CKD predisposes them to malnutrition, poor quality of life, and worsen disease prognoses. To appropriately treat the taste dysfunction in this group of patients, it’s imperative that factors that predict taste dysfunction and its severity are identified for prompt treatment. Aim: To identify factors associated with taste dysfunction and its severity among patients with CKD. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based case–control study of adult patients with CKD at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. The control group was made up of age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers with no clinical and laboratory evidence of CKD. Relevant clinical and social data obtained include demographics, symptoms, and signs of taste dysfunction and its risk factors. The 4 basic taste modalities namely sweet, sour, bitter, and salt taste senses of the participants were tested with validated “taste strips.” Factors that predict taste dysfunction were identified among the spectrum of the disease. Results: There were 100 patients with CKD and 100 healthy controls, age ranges between 19 and 86 years (mean ± standard deviation [SD] = 46.3 ± 13.9 years) and 20 and 85 years (mean ± SD = 43.4 ± 14.9 years), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between cases and control gender distribution ( P = .57). Hypogeusia was found in 27.0% of patients with CKD, while total taste function score of all the control was within normal range. Increasing duration of CKD was identified as a predictor of taste dysfunction among patients with CKD (odds ratio: 4.889, P = .038). The stages of CKD had no statistically significant relationship with the severity of taste dysfunction ( P = .629). Conclusion: The prevalence of taste dysfunction among patients with CKD was high and this showed significant correlation with increasing duration of CKD; in contrast, the severity of CKD is not significant in the development of taste dysfunction.

Neuroimmunoendocrine Link Between Chronic Kidney Disease and Olfactory Deficits

“…CKD and particularly ESKD patients present significantly decreased olfactory function ( Figure 1 ; Frasnelli et al, 2002 ; Landis et al, 2011 ; Attems et al, 2015 ; Kondo et al, 2020 ; Robles-Osorio et al, 2020 ; Iacono et al, 2021 ; Yusuf et al, 2021a , b ). Additionally, CKD patients follow a controlled diet with reduced calorie uptake, and ∼70% of them suffer from loss of taste ( Frasnelli et al, 2002 ), which can lead to insufficient or unbalanced feeding behaviors.…”

“…Additionally, CKD patients follow a controlled diet with reduced calorie uptake, and ∼70% of them suffer from loss of taste ( Frasnelli et al, 2002 ), which can lead to insufficient or unbalanced feeding behaviors. Malnutrition, one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in CKD ( Figure 1 ; Anderson et al, 2016 ), begins when renal functions decline, promoting a gradually reduced protein and total calorie intake, leading to cachexia, and increasing the risk of death ( Nigwekar et al, 2017 ; Yusuf et al, 2021b ). Although the straightforward link between impaired olfactory function and the nutritional state is still debatable, poor odor perception is associated with elevated serum urea and a high protein catabolic rate ( Griep et al, 1997 ).…”