Abstract
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common systemic diseases in childhood which predisposes the patient to serious short-term and long-term complications, affecting all body systems. Taste and olfactory impairments were first described a long time ago in adult patients affected by diabetes (both type 1 and type 2 diabetes). However, studies evaluating taste perception, behavioral attitudes (e.g., food neophobia), and preferences toward foods in children and adolescents affected by T1D are globally lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess taste sensitivity, food neophobia, and preferences among children and adolescents affected by T1D and healthy controls in a cross-sectional study. T1D patients presented a significantly lower ability in general to correctly identify taste qualities, especially bitter and sour tastes. Moreover, they were characterized by fewer fungiform papillae compared to controls, as well as a lower responsiveness to the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). There were no significant differences in food neophobia scores between the two groups, but differences were observed in the mean hedonic ratings for some product categories investigated. Diabetic patients showed a greater liking for certain type of foods generally characterized by sourness and bitterness, an observation probably linked to their impaired ability to perceive taste stimuli, e.g., sourness and bitterness. These results may help to enhance the understanding of these relationships in populations with elevated diet-related health risks.
Highlights
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common systemic diseases in childhood [1] and predisposes patients to serious short-term and long-term complications, affecting all body systems [2]
Consistent with the stated hypothesis, the findings presented in Table 1 showed that children and adolescents with and without T1D presented differences in their taste sensitivity measures
Taste impairment was found in the T1D patients relative to the control group with respect to electro and chemical gustometry [7], as well as increased thresholds for basic tastes when perception was evaluated using serially diluted solutions [10,45]
Summary
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common systemic diseases in childhood [1] and predisposes patients to serious short-term and long-term complications, affecting all body systems [2]. Some complications have been studied and understood in more depth than others. Taste and olfactory impairments were first described a long time ago in adult patients affected by T1D [3,4,5,6,7], but recent studies were not able to confirm these findings [8,9]. Pavlidis and colleagues [12] found impairments in the density and morphology of the fungiform papillae (FP) among patients with diabetes, which are the gustatory anatomical structures containing taste buds
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
