Taste sensitivity of adults and elderly persons

Abstract Objective: To compare the taste sensitivity of adults and elderly people, considering nutritional status, smoking and alcohol consumption. Method: Forty-six volunteers participated in the research, thirteen of whom were adult employees of a company from the food industry and thirty-three of whom were elderly residents of three Long-Term Care Facilities for the Elderly from the Vale do Taquari (Taquari Valley). They responded to a structured questionnaire about their socioeconomic data and use of medication, smoking and alcohol consumption, and underwent a nutritional evaluation and a taste sensitivity test. The taste sensitivity test was applied at three different concentrations for every flavor, with 4 drops dripped on the tongue of the volunteer, who described the level of perceived palatability, giving a score of 0-5. Data was analyzed through statistical analysis using the Statistical Package SPSS 20.0, considering a value of significance of p<0.05. Result: a reduction in the taste sensitivity of the elderly persons was noted for the sweet and sour solutions, in comparison with adults, as the majority of the elderly people demonstrated lower sensitivity scale scores for the citric acid solution in concentration 1 (p=0.004) and concentration 2 (p=0.049) and sucrose in concentration 3 (p=0.026). Conclusion: Elderly people had a lower perception of the sweet and sour flavors than adults. Moreover, nutritional status, gender, alcohol consumption, smoking and medication use were not significantly associated with the taste perception of the individuals evaluated.

摘要：本研究旨在比较成人与老年人的味觉敏感度差异，并将营养状况、吸烟及饮酒行为纳入考量因素。研究方法：共招募46名志愿者参与本研究，其中13名为某食品工业公司的成年员工，33名为来自塔夸里谷（Vale do Taquari）三家老年长期护理机构（Long-Term Care Facilities for the Elderly）的老年居民。所有受试者均填写了涵盖社会经济数据、用药情况、吸烟与饮酒行为的结构化问卷（structured questionnaire），并接受了营养评估与味觉敏感度测试。味觉敏感度测试针对每种口味设置三种不同浓度，每剂向受试者舌部滴加4滴溶液，受试者需描述其感知的适口程度并给出0至5分的评分。本研究采用SPSS 20.0统计软件包进行数据分析，显著性阈值设定为p<0.05。研究结果：相较于成人组，老年人对甜味与酸味溶液的味觉敏感度显著下降：多数老年人在1号浓度柠檬酸溶液（p=0.004）、2号浓度柠檬酸溶液（p=0.049）以及3号浓度蔗糖溶液（p=0.026）的评分均更低。研究结论：老年人对甜味与酸味的感知能力弱于成人。此外，营养状况、性别、饮酒、吸烟及用药情况与受试个体的味觉感知无显著关联。