Feasibility of the new dry taste assessment method TASENS in older adults: a pilot study in two European countries
Vít Blanař1,2, Jan Pospíchal3, Doris Eglseer4
1Faculty of Health Studies, University of Pardubice, Průmyslová 395, Pardubice, 532 10, Czech Republic. vit.blanar@upce.cz.
Background:
Despite existing studies, there is no consensus on standardised methods for taste assessment, and existing liquid methods have not been sufficiently proven to be accurate for older adults. Therefore, the study aims to conduct a pilot study on the feasibility of the new dry taste assessment method (TASENS) in older hospital patients and to gain initial insight into the association between taste alterations and malnutrition.
Methods:
A quantitative cross-sectional pilot study was carried out. The pilot study was conducted with 54 hospital patients from the Czech Republic and Austria with a median age of 77 years. The TASENS method was used to assess taste alterations, and nutritional status was evaluated using the MNA-SF. Feasibility was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. The study adheres to the STROBE guidelines.
Results:
All participants found the duration of the assessment acceptable and the instructions clear, with the procedure being easy for most (96.3%). In Austria, 68% agreed that the assessment was practical, while in the Czech Republic, 48.3% agreed. Patients correctly identified an average of 68.3% of the tastes. The rate of correctly identified tastes was highest in participants with normal nutritional status (AT 67.6%; CZ 73.6%) and lowest in malnourished patients (AT 58.3%; CZ 65.6%).
Conclusion:
This pilot study identified the TASENS method to be a feasible tool for assessing taste alterations in older populations. Based on our data, approximately one-third of the patients had taste alterations, and people who had taste alterations were also more likely to have malnutrition.
