Ageing and taste

Abstract

Taste perception has been studied frequently in young and older adult groups. This paper systematically reviews these studies to determine the effect of ageing on taste perception and establish the reported extent of sensory decline. Five databases were searched from 1900 to April 2012. Articles relating to healthy ageing in human subjects were included, reviewed and rated (Downs and Black scoring system). Sixty-nine studies investigated the effect of ageing on taste perception; forty examined detection thresholds of which twenty-three provided sufficient data for meta-analysis, eighteen reported identification thresholds and twenty-five considered supra-threshold intensity perception. Researchers investigating detection thresholds considered between one and thirteen taste compounds per paper. Overall, the consensus was that taste detection thresholds increased with age (Hedges' g = 0 . 91, P < 0 . 001), across all taste modalities. Identification thresholds were reported to be higher for older adults in seventeen out of eighteen studies. Sixteen out of twenty-five studies reported perception of taste intensity at supra-threshold levels to be significantly lower for older adults. However, six out of nine studies concerning sucrose found perceived intensity of sweet taste not to diminish with age. The findings of this systematic review suggest taste perception declines during the healthy ageing process, although the extent of decline varies between studies. Overall, the studies reviewed had low Downs and Black scores (mean 16 (SD 2)) highlighting the need for more robust large scale and longitudinal studies monitoring the impact of ageing on the sensory system, and how this influences the perception of foods and beverages.Age: Taste: Threshold: Detection: IntensityOlder adults are at risk of under nutrition due to a multitude of physiological, psychological and socio-economic factors. Physiological factors are diverse, such as malabsorption of nutrients, infection, dysphagia, as well as loss of appetite and sensory decline. Older people frequently complain of blandness of foods or sensory changes that may influence their liking and subsequent consumption of food, further impacting on their risk of malnutrition (1) . Previous researchers have used taste enhancement, aiming to increase liking and consumption of meals by older adults, with conflicting results (2,3) . Therefore, in order to develop foods leading to improved liking and consumption by older adults, analysis of age-related changes in taste perception is essential. This paper systematically reviews the evidence for deterioration of taste perception within healthy ageing and discusses the extent of change.

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“…2012; Methven et al. 2012), gender (Hyde and Feller 1981; Chauhan and Hawrysh 1988; Mojet et al. 2001, 2003; Heft and Robinson 2010), and genetic variation in taste sensitivity to 6‐n‐propylthiouracil (PROP) (Bartoshuk et al 1994; Bartoshuk 2000; Tepper et al.…”

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“…On average thresholds for taste identification and taste detection increase at older age (Mehtven, Allen, Withers, & Gosney, 2012). From the four basic tastes, sweetness perception is preserved best against detrimental effects of aging (Simpson et al, 2012).…”

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