Relationship between pregnancy and sense of taste

Abstract

"Background: The change in taste is common for pregnant women. This study aimed to assess the sense of taste in pregnant women in comparison with non-pregnant women. Methods: A cohort study was conducted on 120 healthy women. The test group (n=60) included pregnant women presenting to a hospital for pregnancy care in their first, second and third trimesters. Control group (n=60) included healthy non-pregnant women presenting to the same center. The groups were matched in terms of age, marital status and oral hygiene. Assessment of sense of taste was done for two groups using sucrose, sodium chloride and citric acid solutions for perception of sweetness, saltiness and sourness. Serial dilutions of sucrose and sodium chloride solutions were prepared in 1.0, 0.1 and 0.01mM concentrations. Serial dilutions of citric acid were prepared in 3.2, 0.32 and 0.032M concentrations. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17 and chi square test. Results: Forty-four non-pregnant (73.3%) and 26 pregnant (43.3%) women gave wrong answer to 0.01mM sucrose solution and this difference wasn’t statistically significant (p=0.07). One individual in each group (1.7%) gave wrong answer to 0.1 and 1mM concentration of sucrose. This difference wasn’t statistically significant (P=0.9). Wrong answers in the two groups and among the three trimesters weren’t significantly different for sodium chloride and citric acid (P=0.9). The difference among pregnant women in the three trimesters wasn’t significant for any concentration or tested solution (P=0.9). Conclusion: The sweet taste threshold decreases during pregnancy but the perception threshold for saltiness and sourness remains unchanged. "