Abstract
Flavor perception involves both olfactory and gustatory function. In patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), hyposmia is a frequent finding, as well as an increased risk of malnutrition. We performed a pilot study to investigate the relationship between flavor perception and risk of malnutrition in PD patients. 63 PD patients participated to perform an olfactory (Sniffin’ Sticks) and gustatory (Taste Strips) task, and a questionnaire to establish nutritional risk (MUST), which includes BMI measurements. The relationship between olfactory and gustatory function and BMI was analyzed using partial correlations, corrected for disease duration, and regression analysis. Patients displayed a high prevalence of hyposmia (68.3%), and a low prevalence (6.3%) of hypogeusia. A small, but significant correlation was found between olfactory function and BMI (r = 0.261, p = 0.038), and not for gustatory function and BMI (r = 0.137, p = 0.284). Hyposmia, and not hypogeusia, may contribute to weight loss in Parkinson’s disease, and hence increase the risk of malnutrition.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with an increased risk of malnutrition and a lower body mass index (BMI) relative to healthy controls (Sheard et al 2011; Chen et al 2003; van der Marck et al 2012; Mun et al 2016; Uc et al 2006; Beyer et al 1995; Barichella et al 2008)
Considering the high prevalence of hyposmia and the potential contribution of hypogeusia we hypothesized that a reduction in the sense of smell and/ or taste would be associated with a lower BMI, and increase the risk of malnutrition in PD
In the present pilot study we found a small, but statistically significant influence of olfactory, but not gustatory function, on BMI in non-demented PD patients: those with more severe hyposmia have a lower BMI
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with an increased risk of malnutrition and a lower body mass index (BMI) relative to healthy controls (Sheard et al 2011; Chen et al 2003; van der Marck et al 2012; Mun et al 2016; Uc et al 2006; Beyer et al 1995; Barichella et al 2008). Considering the high prevalence of hyposmia (up to 90%; Doty 2012) and the potential contribution of hypogeusia we hypothesized that a reduction in the sense of smell and/ or taste would be associated with a lower BMI, and increase the risk of malnutrition in PD. In this brief report, we present the results of a pilot study on the relationship between the olfactory and gustatory components of flavor perception and (risk of) malnutrition in PD
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