Reliability of whole-mouth taste test in assessment of gustatory function in healthy adults

Abstract

Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of gustatory function using whole-mouth taste tests in healthy adults. Methods:Fifty healthy subjects were tested by whole-mouth taste test. The taste test involved 5 tastants（sour, sweet, salty, umami and bitter） and 7 concentrations. The tastant solutions were administered in a pseudo-random order starting with the lowest concentration. Record the perception and recognition scores of each tastant separately. The same operator performed test again by the same method two weeks later. The relative reliability and absolute reliability of the whole-mouth taste test were evaluated with intraclass correlation coefficient（ICC） and standard errors of measurement（SEM）, SEM% respectively. Results:The intraclass correlation coefficient of the perception scores of the sour, sweet, salty, umami and bitter in healthy subjects were from 0.753 to 0.819, ICC values of recognition score range from 0.751 to 0.828. In terms of absolute reliability, the SEM and SEM% values of perception scores were 0.329-0.463 and 6.60%-9.07% respectively; SEM of recognition scores were 0.425-0.581 and SEM%=9.09%-14.66%. Conclusion:The whole-mouth taste test could be a reliable tool for gustatory function test with good test-retest reliability in healthy adults.