Title | Taste intensity in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2013 |
Authors | Fischer, ME, Cruickshanks, KJ, Schubert, CR, Pinto, A, Klein, BEK, Klein, R, F. Nieto, J, Pankow, JS, Huang, G-H, Snyder, DJ |
Journal | Laryngoscope |
Volume | 123 |
Issue | 6 |
Pagination | 1399-404 |
Date Published | 04/2013 |
ISSN | 1531-4995 |
Keywords | Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cross-Sectional Studies, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Reference Values, Retrospective Studies, Sex Factors, Sodium Chloride, Dietary, Taste, Taste Buds, Taste Threshold, Young Adult |
Abstract | OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To determine the distribution of the perceived intensity of salt, sweet, sour, and bitter in a large population and to investigate factors associated with perceived taste intensity. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional population. METHODS: Subjects (n = 2,374; mean age, 48.8 years) were participants in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study examined during 2005 to 2008. Perceived taste intensity was measured using paper disks and a general labeled magnitude scale. Multiple linear regression was performed. RESULTS: Mean intensity ratings were: salt = 27.2 (standard deviation [SD] = 18.5), sweet = 20.4 (SD = 15.0), sour = 35.7 (SD = 21.4), and bitter = 49.6 (SD = 23.3). Females and those with less than a college degree education rated tastes stronger. With adjustment for age, sex, and education, stronger perceived sour and bitter intensities were related to current smoking (sour: B = 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.4 to 5.2; bitter: B = 2.8, 95% CI, 0.3 to 5.4) and lipid-lowering medications (sour: B = 5.1, 95% CI, 2.5 to 7.6; bitter: B = 3.2, 95% CI, 0.6 to 5.8). Alcohol consumption in the past year was related to weaker salt (B = -2.8, 95% CI, -5.3 to -0.3) and sweet intensity ratings (B = -2.3, 95% CI, -4.3 to -0.3), whereas olfactory impairment was associated with higher sweet ratings (B = 4.7, 95% CI, 1.4 to 7.9). CONCLUSIONS: Perceived intensities were strongest for bitter and weakest for sweet. Sex and education were associated with each taste, whereas age did not demonstrate a consistent relationship. Associations with other factors differed by tastants, with current smoking and alcohol consumption being related to some tastes. |
DOI | 10.1002/lary.23894 |
Alternate Journal | Laryngoscope |
PubMed ID | 23625687 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC3664123 |
Grant List | R01 AG021917 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States R01AG021917 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States |