Age and sex differences in the taste sensitivity of young adult, young-old and old-old Japanese.
OBJECTIVE
The present study examined sex and age differences in taste sensitivity among young adult, young-old and old-old Japanese.


METHODS
Participants were divided into three groups comprising 477 men and 519 women in the young-old group (aged 69-71 years), 449 men and 500 women in the old-old group (aged 79-81 years), and 35 men and 35 women in the young adult group (aged 24-32 years). Recognition thresholds for the four basic tastes were measured using the 1-mL whole mouth gustatory test, in which taste solutions of the four basic tastes were tested in five concentrations.


RESULTS
Young adults showed significantly lower recognition thresholds than the young-old group, and the young-old group showed significantly lower recognition thresholds than the old-old group. Among the young-old and old-old groups, women showed significantly lower recognition thresholds than males for sour, salty and bitter tastes, but there was no sex difference in the sweet taste threshold between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study confirmed that there are age and sex differences in taste sensitivity for the four basic tastes among young adult, young-old, and old-old Japanese, and that the sensitivity of sweet taste is more robust than the other tastes. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 1281-1288.
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Masaki
M
Yoshinaka
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Kazunori
K
Ikebe
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Masahiro
M
Uota
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Taiji
T
Ogawa
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Tadashi
T
Okada
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Chisato
C
Inomata
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Hajime
H
Takeshita
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Yusuke
Y
Mihara
Department of Clinical Thanatology and Geriatric Behavioral Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Human Sciences, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasuyuki
Y
Gondo
Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
Yukie
Y
Masui
School of Allied Health Sciences, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Kei
K
Kamide
School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasumichi
Y
Arai
Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
Ryutaro
R
Takahashi
Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
Yoshinobu
Y
Maeda
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004408:Dysgeusia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013649:Taste; D013652:Taste Threshold; D055815:Young Adult
aging; gender difference; taste sensitivity; whole mouth gustatory test