Association among taste, oral sensation, and oral dryness and dietary intake in dependent elderly

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26462919
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Prosthodontics/ Dental materials science and
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Kibi Masahito 大阪大学, 歯学研究科, 招へい教員 (50294111)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 歯学 / 老化 / 栄養 / 細菌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Forty-three elderly individuals residing in nursing homes in Japan were enrolled (n = 43, 82.3 ± 8.5 years), and were compared with an independently living elderly group (n = 949, years), aiming to compare taste detection ability. Information regarding comorbidity and medication were obtained as general health status, and oral status including number of present teeth, denture usage, maximal occlusal force were also noted. In the dependently living group, 69.4%, 14.3%, 16.3% and 8.2% of participants could detect sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes, respectively, which was significantly lower than the independently living group for each taste (97.9%, 70.8%, 89.6% and 43.8%, respectively). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that residing in nursing homes was associated with reduced sensitivity for four different tastes. It is concluded that the diseases and the situation of dependent elders were more likely the cause of the decreased taste sensitivity.

Free Research Field

歯科補綴学