Taste hyposensitivity in Japanese schoolchildren

Abstract

BackgroundThere is some research on taste disorder/hyposensitivity in special groups such as the elderly or patients presenting with specific taste problems, however few studies have been conducted among young populations. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of taste hyposensitivity and to investigate the relationship between taste hyposensitivity and oral health status in Japanese schoolchildren.MethodsSubjects were 237 primary and 112 junior high school students in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In total, 349 (boys: 181, girls: 168) students aged 6–15 years participated in the study. Oral examinations and whole-mouth taste tests using four tastes (sweet, salt, sour and bitter) solutions were conducted on the subjects. A subject who could not recognize the taste of the solution was defined as demonstrating hyposensitivity.ResultsHyposensitivity was observed in 6.3% of all subjects for sweet-taste, 14.3% for salt-taste, 20.9% for sour-taste and 6.0% for bitter-taste. The prevalence of sweet, sour and bitter-taste hyposensitivity decreased as the subjects’ grade advanced. In contrast, the prevalence of salt-taste hyposensitivity increased in 7th-9th grade subjects. Furthermore, the prevalence of bitter-taste hyposensitivity was significantly higher in males than females among 1st-3rd graders.Taste hyposensitivity had little association with oral health status, such as decayed teeth, filled teeth, dental plaque, gingival status and tongue coating.ConclusionsIn this study, taste hyposensitivity was observed in 6.0%-20.9% of the students. There was little association between taste hyposensitivity and oral health status. The current study implies that the factors affecting the taste hyposensitivity in children may different from those in the elderly. Therefore it is necessary to further investigate the causes of taste hyposensitivity among younger generation.

The effect of sweet and salty taste sensitivity on gin-gival health in relation to salivary serotonin among type1 diabetic patients aged 12-14 years

“…The strong association between inflammation and taste impairment suggested that inflammation might affect the pathogenesis of taste dysfunction (37) . However, the difference was not statically significant, this agreed with Ohnuki et al, which found that taste hyposensitivity had little association with oral health status, such as dental plaque and gingival status (39).…”

Incidence of and Factors Associated With Hypogeusia in Healthy Children

“…Ohnuki et al 15 found that 6% of children had sweet hyposensitivity, 21% sour hyposensitivity, 6% bitter hyposensitivity, and 14% salty hyposensitivity; this group also used whole-mouth taste testing. In a study of 761 children and adults (approximately 75% were 20 years or older), the prevalence of hypogeusia was reported as approximately 5%.…”

Infants’ and Children’s Salt Taste Perception and Liking: A Review

“…Salt taste recognition thresholds are commonly conducted with a range of salt solutions and presented one at a time. Children simply reported whether they could identify the taste [ 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 ]. Children’s recognition thresholds of salty taste fall about 9 times above children’s salt detection threshold and vary from 0.17 to 0.18% ( w / v ) NaCl.…”

“…Children’s recognition thresholds of salty taste fall about 9 times above children’s salt detection threshold and vary from 0.17 to 0.18% ( w / v ) NaCl. Two studies found higher thresholds, but technically speaking they did not measure thresholds because of the limited number of solutions which were offered [ 76 , 77 ]. In adults, salt recognition thresholds vary, as is the case with children.…”