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Self‐perceived taste disturbance: a 20‐year prospective study of a Swedish 1942 birth cohort
Author(s) -
Ekbäck Gunnar,
Ordell Sven
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
gerodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1741-2358
pISSN - 0734-0664
DOI - 10.1111/ger.12244
Subject(s) - medicine , gee , generalized estimating equation , longitudinal study , cohort , demography , cohort study , prospective cohort study , taste , pediatrics , gerontology , surgery , psychology , statistics , mathematics , pathology , neuroscience , sociology
Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the impact of dental care factors, general health factors and socio‐economic factors on perceived taste disturbance ( PTD ) over time and to assess the stability of or change in PTD in a panel of individuals as they progressed from middle age (50 years) to early old age (70 years). Materials and methods Data collection was conducted from a cohort study beginning in 1992, when the participants were 50 years old, and again 5, 10, 15 and 20 years later. Stability and change in PTD were described using cross‐tabulation. Perceived taste disturbance over the 20‐year survey period was modelled using the generalised estimating equation ( GEE ). Results The prevalence of PTD during a 5‐year period found in this study ranged from 2.4 to 2.9%, the latter in individuals between 60 and 70 years of age. Women generally had PTD more often than men. The longitudinal analysis showed that problems with bad breath ( OR = 3.6), blisters ( OR = 3.4), burning mouth ( OR = 3.4) and self‐perceived health ( OR = 2.7) were the most important factors explaining PTD . Conclusions This study showed that PTD does not increase between 50 and 70 years of age in ordinary community‐living individuals. There were no long‐term impacts on PTD over time from socio‐economic factors, and over time, there were a limited number of factors contributing to the effect. Bad breath, blisters, burning mouth and self‐perceived health are important factors for the dentist to discuss with the patient in the case of PTD .