Age and diabetes effects on threshold and hedonic perception of sucrose solutions.

This study explored the relationship of age and diabetes to the threshold and perception of the hedonic qualities of sucrose solutions. A significant increase in threshold beginning in the eighth decade was observed. Diabetic persons did not differ significantly in the threshold for sucrose from nondiabetic subjects. Younger individuals tended to judge suprathreshold solutions as sweeter than older persons. Results from pleasantness ratings were less clear but could be taken to imply that the younger, more recently diagnosed diabetic would find it more difficult to stay on a restricted diet necessary for the control of diabetes than would the older diabetic.