Age-associated increases in intensity discrimination for taste

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Sensory Science
• Nutrition

Background:

• Aging can lead to impaired taste sensation, affecting food appreciation and nutritional status.
• Changes in flavor perception may stem from reduced ability to discriminate suprathreshold taste intensities.
• Previous research indicated poorer bitter taste discrimination in the elderly, but not sweet taste.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of age and taste substance on taste intensity discrimination.
• To determine if taste intensity discrimination declines similarly across different taste qualities in aging individuals.
• To assess Weber ratios (WRs) for citric acid and sodium chloride (NaCl) in elderly and young women.

Main Methods:

• Assessed taste intensity discrimination using Weber ratios (WRs).
• Tested discrimination for citric acid and sodium chloride (NaCl).
• Included 60 participants, with equal numbers of elderly and young women.

Main Results:

• A significant effect of age was observed on WRs for both citric acid and NaCl.
• Elderly participants showed poorer taste intensity discrimination compared to younger participants.
• The findings suggest age-related decline in discriminating sour and salty taste intensities.

Conclusions:

• Taste intensity discrimination for sour (citric acid) and salty (NaCl) stimuli is significantly affected by age.
• Impaired suprathreshold intensity discrimination is a key factor in age-related taste perception changes.
• These findings highlight the importance of taste intensity discrimination for maintaining adequate nutrition in the elderly.