title: Taste hyposensitivity in Japanese schoolchildren.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is some research on taste disorder/hyposensitivity in special groups such as the elderly or patients presenting with specific taste problems, however few studies have been conducted among young populations. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of taste hyposensitivity and to investigate the relationship between taste hyposensitivity and oral health status in Japanese schoolchildren.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were 237 primary and 112 junior high school students in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In total, 349 (boys: 181, girls: 168) students aged 6-15 years participated in the study. Oral examinations and whole-mouth taste tests using four tastes (sweet, salt, sour and bitter) solutions were conducted on the subjects. A subject who could not recognize the taste of the solution was defined as demonstrating hyposensitivity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hyposensitivity was observed in 6.3% of all subjects for sweet-taste, 14.3% for salt-taste, 20.9% for sour-taste and 6.0% for bitter-taste. The prevalence of sweet, sour and bitter-taste hyposensitivity decreased as the subjects' grade advanced. In contrast, the prevalence of salt-taste hyposensitivity increased in 7th-9th grade subjects. Furthermore, the prevalence of bitter-taste hyposensitivity was significantly higher in males than females among 1st-3rd graders.Taste hyposensitivity had little association with oral health status, such as decayed teeth, filled teeth, dental plaque, gingival status and tongue coating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, taste hyposensitivity was observed in 6.0%-20.9% of the students. There was little association between taste hyposensitivity and oral health status. The current study implies that the factors affecting the taste hyposensitivity in children may different from those in the elderly. Therefore it is necessary to further investigate the causes of taste hyposensitivity among younger generation.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohnuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Promotion, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. ueno.ohp@tmd.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zaitsu
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000453:epidemiology; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010512:Periodontal Index; D015995:Prevalence; D011803:Quinine; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013395:Sucrose; D013644:Tartrates; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D013644:Tartrates; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013395:Sucrose; D011803:Quinine; C029768:tartaric acid
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