Sensory stimulation of taste and smell in older adults: a literature review

Abstract

The sensory stimulation of smell and taste are very important. Now is the time to pay more attention to it, since its correct functionality is essential for life, health and safety of people, especially in old age. At this stage, is when these senses are deteriorating, possibly due to decreased production of receptor cells. Therefore, the objective of this article is to identify existing methods for sensory stimulation, physiology and evaluation of the chemo-sensory senses: taste, smell and everything that contributes to the knowledge, approach and intervention of these senses. Documentary design was applied, with reference review in databases such as: MEDLINE, LILACS, SciELO, Springer, Elsevier, EBSCO and Google Scholar. Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS) were used: Aged, Taste perception, Sense of Smell, Sensation. The search included the languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish. The references have been published in the last 6 years. That is, from 2017 to 2022, 30 articles were included since they met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results obtained were: identification of physiology, evaluation methods, diagnosis, and stimulation. They have been implemented and have been shown to be suitable for exploring, analyzing and improving functionality. In conclusion, diagnostic tests and sensory stimulation methods are suitable for application in elderly people.