Effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy on taste acuity and sweetness acceptability in postsurgical subjects.
OBJECTIVE
Data on taste acuity after bariatric surgery are scarce, and taste perception after sleeve gastrectomy, to our knowledge, has never been investigated. The objective of this work was to retrospectively compare taste acuity and sweetness acceptability after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy.


METHODS
Subjects with a postoperative period ≥6 mo were recruited (between January and June 2012) for a non-randomized, observational study. Subjects completed sensory evaluation sessions consisting of measurement of detection thresholds for bitterness and sweetness (N = 21), saltiness and sourness (N = 19), and sweetness acceptability (N = 19). Significance was established with Tukey's honest significant difference test and analysis of variance using the SAS GLM procedure.


RESULTS
Sourness threshold was significantly higher among subjects who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (P = 0.0045). No other differences were obtained for the other thresholds or sweetness acceptability (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Further randomized studies are needed to clarify these differences.
Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Sibelle
S
El Labban
Surgery Department, Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Bassem
B
Safadi
Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: Ammar.olabi@aub.edu.lb.
Ammar
A
Olabi
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D015390:Gastric Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D055697:Taste Perception; D013652:Taste Threshold; D055815:Young Adult
Food preferences; Gastric bypass; Sleeve gastrectomy; Taste