Sensitivity assessment to taste in the elderly and its relationship with the quality of sleep

• Grant number: 16/16153-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: Andrea Maculano Esteves
• Grantee: Maria Eduarda Martelli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas (FCA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

With aging there is a loss in the taste sensivity, this occurs because with aging appears some physiological alterations. The most significant loss in the elderly is to the bitter and salt tastes. Older people also consume a large amount of drugs because of the increased risk for developing chronic diseases, and drugs use is one of the main factors that alters the taste. With advancing age can also occur some disturbances in sleep, and the sleep alterations most found in this population are insomnia and sleep apnea. The studies that related the taste sensivity with the sleep disorders are scarce and the results are controversial, so more studies in this area must be made for related this two factors, for this reason the present study aims to evaluate the taste sensivity and sleep disorders in the elderly people and seek correlations between these two facts. We will selected 30 individuals to participate in this study. Elderly people responded to questionaries that asses the somnolence, sleep quality and chronotype, they also will undergo an evaluation of taste sensitivity to the four basic tastes, for that will be offered to the participants of the study different concentrations of sodium chloride (salt), refined sugar (sweet), caffeine (bitter) and citric acid (acid) in order to evaluate the taste sensivity of the elderly. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MARTELLI, MARIA EDUARDA; JACOB, NATALIA; MORAIS, MILCA ABDA; DA-CUNHA, DIOGO T.; CORONA, LIGIANA P.; CAPITANI, CAROLINE DARIO; ESTEVES, ANDREA MACULANO. Taste sensitivity throughout age and the relationship with the sleep quality. SLEEP SCIENCE, v. 13, n. 1, p. 32-36, 2020. (16/02066-7, 16/16153-9)

MARTELLI, M. E.; ABDA DE MORAES, M.; DARIO CAPITANI, C.; MACULANO ESTEVES, A.. TASTE SENSITIVITY IN OLDER ADULTS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SLEEP QUALITY. Sleep Medicine, v. 40, p. 1-pg., 2017-12-01. (16/16153-9)