Department of Applied Statistics, Chung-Ang University, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023 Oct;13(10):1949-1957. doi: 10.1002/alr.23158. Epub 2023 Mar 30.
Olfactory dysfunction has been reported to be involved in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. However, gustatory dysfunction in PD has not been evaluated as in-depth as olfactory dysfunction. We reviewed the previously published studies regarding gustatory function in PD patients and suggested the possibility that gustatory dysfunction may also be associated with PD.
MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, and PubMed databases were searched for studies evaluating gustatory function in PD patients. We used the standardized mean difference and a 95% confidence interval (CI) as the effect analysis index regarding the taste strip test. The relative risk and 95% CI were used as the effect analysis index for the questionnaires and propylthiouracil (PTU)/phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) perception test. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using forest plots, Cochran's Q, and the I statistic; heterogeneity was considered high when I was over 75%. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plots and the Egger bias test.
We identified 19 articles that reported the results of gustatory function tests in PD patients and healthy controls. Most of these studies used various gustatory tests, including taste strips, questionnaires, taste solutions, PTU/PTC perception tests, and electrogustometry, and reported significantly lower gustatory function in PD patients than in the controls. However, several articles reported contradictory results.
Based on these studies, gustatory dysfunction is closely related to PD. However, the number of studies and enrolled subjects was small, and a unified gustatory function test was lacking. Therefore, further studies with larger populations and normalized gustatory function tests are needed.
嗅觉功能障碍已被报道与帕金森病（PD）的发病机制有关。然而，与嗅觉功能障碍相比，PD 患者的味觉功能障碍尚未得到深入评估。我们回顾了之前发表的关于 PD 患者味觉功能的研究，并提出味觉功能障碍也可能与 PD 有关的可能性。
我们检索了 MEDLINE、Cochrane 图书馆、Embase 和 PubMed 数据库中评估 PD 患者味觉功能的研究。我们使用标准化均数差和 95%置信区间（CI）作为味觉条试验的效应分析指标。相对风险和 95%CI 作为问卷和丙硫氧嘧啶（PTU）/苯硫脲（PTC）感知试验的效应分析指标。使用森林图、Cochran's Q 和 I 统计量评估统计异质性；当 I 超过 75%时，认为存在高度异质性。通过漏斗图和 Egger 偏倚检验评估发表偏倚。
我们确定了 19 篇报道 PD 患者和健康对照组味觉功能测试结果的文章。这些研究大多使用了各种味觉测试，包括味觉条、问卷、味觉溶液、PTU/PTC 感知测试和电味觉，报告 PD 患者的味觉功能明显低于对照组。然而，也有一些文章报告了相反的结果。
基于这些研究，味觉功能障碍与 PD 密切相关。然而，研究数量和纳入的受试者较少，缺乏统一的味觉功能测试。因此，需要进一步进行具有更大人群和标准化味觉功能测试的研究。
