title: The effect of zinc deficiency on salt taste acuity, preference, and dietary sodium intake in hemodialysis patients.
abstract: Introduction High sodium intake is the main cause of fluid overload in hemodialysis (HD) patients, leading to increased cardiovascular mortality. High sodium intake is known to be associated with low salt taste acuity and/or high preference. As the zinc status could influence taste acuity, we analyzed the effect of zinc deficiency on salt taste acuity, preference, and dietary sodium intake in HD patients. Methods A total of 77 HD patients was enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Zinc deficiency was defined as serum zinc level with below 70 µg/mL. The patients were divided into two groups based on serum zinc level. Salt taste acuity and preference were determined by a sensory test using varying concentrations of NaCl solution, and dietary sodium intake was estimated using 3-day dietary recall surveys. Findings The mean salt recognition threshold and salt taste preference were significantly higher in the zinc deficient group than in the non-zinc deficient group. And there was significant positive correlation between salt taste preference and dietary sodium intake in zinc deficient group (r = 0.43, P = 0.002). Although, the dietary sodium intake showed a high tendency with no significance (P = 0.052), interdialytic weight gain was significantly higher in the zinc deficient group than in the non-zinc deficient group (2.68 ± 1.02 kg vs. 3.18 ± 1.02 kg; P = 0.047). Discussion Zinc deficiency may be related to low salt taste acuity and high salt preference, leading to high dietary sodium intake in HD patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Republic of Korea.|Department of Dietetics and Nutrition Service, Jeju National Hospital, Jeju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: So Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Miyeon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University Hospital, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Kyoung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soon Bae
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jai Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Woo
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000379:methods*; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012982:Sodium, Dietary; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Zinc; hemodialysis; sodium intake