Abstract
Past studies on altered taste function in individuals with type 1 diabetes have yielded inconsistent results. We therefore evaluated taste recognition and possible association with personal and diseases characteristics in young individuals with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls. Taste recognition and intensity for 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), quinine, citric acid, sucrose, and sodium chloride were assessed using a filter paper method in 276 participants with type 1 diabetes and 147 healthy controls. Personal and clinical data were recorded for all participants during a baseline visit. Regression analysis was adjusted for sex, age, and standardized BMI. Overall, 47% of participants with type 1 diabetes vs. 63.5% of healthy controls recognized all tastes (p = 0.006). Moreover, a lower capacity for recognizing the bitter taste of PROP and the sour taste of citric acid was found in participants with type 1 diabetes compared to healthy controls (p = 0.014 and p = 0.003, respectively). While no significant effect of glycemic control on taste recognition was found, an association with lower age at onset emerged. Our findings suggest an impaired taste perception in individuals with type 1 diabetes, possibly linked to age at onset.
Highlights
Taste perception is one of the most important factors influencing individual food preferences and eating habits with possible implications on health status [1–3]
Hypogeusia involving all the four primary tastes was described in adults with type 1 diabetes, significantly associated with type 1 diabetes duration and its complications such as peripheral neuropathy, proposing that the impairment could be a complication of the disease [8]
We identified significantly reduced overall taste perception, the bitterness of PROP, and the sour of citric acid in participants with type 1 diabetes
Summary
Taste perception is one of the most important factors influencing individual food preferences and eating habits with possible implications on health status [1–3]. A significantly increased threshold for bitter, salty, sour, and sweet tastes was observed in 70 participants with type 1 diabetes compared to controls [10]. Other studies showed no significant differences in taste function between participants with uncomplicated type 1 diabetes and healthy subjects [12, 13]. There are conflicting reports on the associations between taste impairment and metabolic control, disease duration, and the presence of diabetes-related complications [8, 12]. In the present study, we evaluated taste perception in young individuals with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls. In participants with type 1 diabetes, we investigated the possible influence of personal and disease characteristics (e.g., puberty, age at onset, onset with ketoacidosis, disease duration, etc.) on taste function
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