Taste Function in Healthy Taiwanese Adults

Abstract

Objective: In this work, our aim was to measure the taste function of healthy Taiwanese adults using 2 commonly used taste tests. Methods: The taste function of 102 healthy Taiwanese adults was evaluated using the whole-mouth suprathreshold taste test and the taste quad test. In the whole-mouth taste test, 5 concentrations of sweet, bitter, sour, and salty solutions were sipped and swished in the mouth twice in a counterbalanced order. A total of 40 tests were done to give a maximum score of 40 for correct quality identification of tastant solutions. In the taste quad test, the 4 quadrants of the tongue were tested using high concentration drops of sweet, bitter, sour, and salty solutions 6 times. A total of 96 tests were done to give a maximum score of 96 for correct quality identification of tastant solutions. Results: The score of the whole-mouth taste test ranged from 33 to 40 with a mean of 38.6 for men and from 31 to 40 with a mean of 38.9 for women. The score of the taste quad test ranged from 40 to 91 with a mean of 75 for men and from 38 to 96 with a mean of 78 for women. Sex was shown not to affect the taste function. Conclusions: Our result showed that sex did not affect the taste function of healthy Taiwanese adults.

Prognosis of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID‐19 patients: A case series

“…Spontaneous recovery of olfactory function has been observed in one‐third of patients within two to three years of infection, but the loss of smell can remain stable in the remaining patients 17,18 . On the other hand, an upper respiratory tract infection is not one of the most common etiologies of gustatory dysfunction 19 …”

“…17,18 On the other hand, an upper respiratory tract infection is not one of the most common etiologies of gustatory dysfunction. 19 It has been reported that the frequency of olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients ranges from 22% to 68%, with the frequency of gustatory dysfunction ranging from 20% to 33%. 2 The pathophysiology of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 patients remains unclear, but the damage to the olfactory neuroepithelium, or olfactory central pathways may be possible reasons surrounding olfactory dysfunction.…”

A Pilot Study of the Waterless Empirical Taste Test

“…In this study, the taste function was measured by both WMTT 8 and the new WETT. There was a minimum 10-minute break between taste tests.…”

Normative data on the subjective gustatory function of Chinese adults

“…In Asia, Japan was the first country to use the whole-mouth gustatory test to study the gustatory function of Japanese subjects, followed by China, South Korea, and Taiwan (3)(4)(5)(6). Hwang CS et al ( 4) tested five basic tastes, including sour, sweet, salty, umami, and bitter in 2018, and obtained the normal range for a Korean population.…”