Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Centre of Dental Medicine, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 32, 50931, Köln, Germany.
Institute of Medical Statistics and Computational Biology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, University Hospital Cologne, Köln, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2021 Oct 14;11(1):20419. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-99978-3.
To identify whether reduced saliva secretion or xerostomia symptoms are risk indicators for impaired taste and smell, depending on age and care needs. This cross-sectional study evaluated taste and smell in patients categorized into different age groups (<65> years) and different care need, with and without dry mouth. Of the 185 patients included, 119 were classified as "dry mouth" and 66 as "without dry mouth". Overall, 103 (55.7%) were female and 37 (20%) needed care. There was no difference between "dry mouth" and "without dry mouth" regarding identification of odors or tastes, but a difference in the number of correctly identified odors and tastes in favor of "without care need" patients (p < 0.05). The ability to identify smells and tastes was negatively influenced by age, number of medications, and number of comorbidities, but subjective dry mouth had no impact. According to our results, subjective dry mouth is not a risk factor for an impaired ability to recognize smells and tastes. However, care need representing age, the number of medications taken, and the number of chronic comorbidities is a risk indicator.
为了确定唾液分泌减少或口干症状是否是味觉和嗅觉受损的风险指标，取决于年龄和护理需求。本横断面研究评估了不同年龄组（<65 岁）和不同护理需求的患者（有或无口干）的味觉和嗅觉。在纳入的 185 名患者中，119 名被归类为“口干”，66 名归类为“无口干”。总体而言，103 名（55.7%）为女性，37 名（20%）需要护理。在识别气味或味道方面，“口干”和“无口干”之间没有差异，但“无护理需求”患者的正确识别气味和味道的数量更多（p<0.05）。识别气味和味道的能力受到年龄、药物数量和合并症数量的负面影响，但主观口干没有影响。根据我们的结果，主观口干不是识别气味和味道能力受损的风险因素。然而，护理需求代表年龄、服用的药物数量和慢性合并症的数量是一个风险指标。
