Taste sensitivity and nutritional status of elderly woman attending the Municipal Activity Center for the Elderly, Curitiba, PR.

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.20174102203211

Abstract

Aging is associated with a decline in sensory acuity that may lead to impaired nutritional status.
Thus, the study aimed to evaluate gustatory sensitivity in relation to the nutritional status of elderly women participating
in an Activity Center for the Elderly (ACE). For that, an observational, analytical cross-sectional study was performed
with elderly participants of an ACE, in Curitiba, PR. An anamnesis was applied to know and characterize the evaluated
population, then an evaluation of the nutritional status was made through anthropometry. The taste sensitivity evaluation
was carried out by means of a test of several solutions with progressive concentrations prepared in the sweet, salty,
bitter, and sour tastes. The detection and recognition thresholds were evaluated. A chi-square test was applied to
verify associations between the variables. The study included 30 elderly women, with a mean age of 74.2 ± 8.8 years
and a mean body mass index of overweight. For the detection threshold, all flavors required significant amounts to be
detected. For the recognition threshold, the salty and sour flavors were readily recognized, with values lower than the
reference values, while the bitter taste was the most difficult to recognize. There was no significant association between
the threshold of detection and / or recognition of primary flavors with the nutritional status indicators evaluated in
this study. This study highlighted the difficulty for the recognition of bitter taste by the elderly, but did not observe a
relationship of normal or altered taste sensitivity with nutritional status.