Harini T C, Ila Anbu, Nagarajappa Anil Kumar, Chandran Ajay, Kolte Deepak R, Gunturu Srikanth
Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, SJM Dental College and Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India.
Department of Dentistry, Panimalar Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2022 Apr-Jun;26(2):208-217. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_38_21. Epub 2022 Jun 28.
The major afflictions such as odynophagia (painful swallowing) and trismus that occur in patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) are well documented, but the impairment of gustatory functions has not received much consideration in the past. The present study was planned with a similar intent to assess and compare the alteration in taste perception among gutkha chewers with and without OSMF and healthy subjects.
The present study was designed as a prospective case-control study comprising 90 individuals within an age range of 15-50 years who were divided into three groups with Group A consisting of 30 patients who were gutkha chewers with OSMF, Group B consisting of 30 individuals who were gutkha chewers but without OSMF and Group C consisting of 30 healthy subjects who were included as normal controls. The taste intensity response scores for the four basic tastes were recorded and the results obtained were, then, subjected to statistical analysis.
The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Comparison of the said parameters was done using Chi-square test, analysis of variance and Tukey's test. < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The findings of the present study suggested that all taste sensations were affected more in Group A patients than the Group B and Group C individuals.
The results obtained in the present study were found to be encouraging as it was demonstrated that taste perception varied significantly among the patients with OSMF as against those having habit of betel nut/gutkha chewing but those who did not develop OSMF and the normal healthy controls and this data, though, initial, might be used on a scientific basis to improve the quality of life in the affected patients as well as to prevent the further progression of the disease process.
口腔黏膜下纤维化（OSMF）患者出现的诸如吞咽痛和牙关紧闭等主要痛苦已有充分记录，但味觉功能受损在过去未得到太多关注。本研究旨在评估和比较有和无OSMF的古特卡咀嚼者与健康受试者之间味觉感知的变化。
本研究设计为一项前瞻性病例对照研究，纳入90名年龄在15至50岁之间的个体，分为三组。A组由30名患有OSMF的古特卡咀嚼者患者组成，B组由30名古特卡咀嚼者但无OSMF的个体组成，C组由30名健康受试者作为正常对照。记录四种基本味觉的味觉强度反应得分，然后对所得结果进行统计分析。
数据使用SPSS 16.0版本（美国伊利诺伊州芝加哥市SPSS公司）进行分析。使用卡方检验、方差分析和Tukey检验对上述参数进行比较。P < 0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
本研究结果表明，A组患者的所有味觉感受比B组和C组个体受到的影响更大。
本研究获得的结果令人鼓舞，因为结果表明，与有槟榔/古特卡咀嚼习惯但未患OSMF的人以及正常健康对照相比，OSMF患者的味觉感知有显著差异。尽管这些数据是初步的，但可在科学基础上用于改善受影响患者的生活质量以及预防疾病进程的进一步发展。
