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TASTE ACUITY IN THE ELDERLY: THE IMPACT OF THRESHOLD, AGE, GENDER, MEDICATION, HEALTH AND DENTAL PROBLEMS
Author(s) -
SANDERS OLA GOODE,
AYERS JANELLA V.,
OAKES SYLVIA
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of sensory studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1745-459X
pISSN - 0887-8250
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-459x.2002.tb00334.x
Subject(s) - taste , sweetness , affect (linguistics) , taste disorder , volunteer , medicine , bitter taste , significant difference , dentistry , gerontology , psychology , audiology , communication , neuroscience , agronomy , biology
This study was designed to assess taste threshold and investigate the effect of age, dental problems, health disorders/diseases and multiple medications on the distortion of taste and to determine if the loss of taste increases with age. One hundred seven elderly from rural congregate feeding sites and senior centers in Northern Alabama volunteered to participate in this study. Water solutions of varying concentrations for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter were prepared to determine recognition thresholds and test the effect of other factors on the ability to taste. A questionnaire was administered to each elderly volunteer to assess overall health. Results indicated that there was no significant age difference for the basic taste sensations, except for sweetness. Gender, dental problems, health disorders, diseases and multiple uses of medications did not significantly affect taste threshold. The basic was a decrease in taste threshold independent of any extraneous factors.