# Associations of taste sensitivity with frailty and health-related quality of life in older adults

## TL;DR

Lower sweet taste sensitivity in older adults is linked to frailty and worse mental quality of life, suggesting diet and oral health improvements could help.

## Contribution

This study provides new evidence linking objectively measured taste sensitivity to frailty and mental health in older adults.

## Key findings

- Lower sweet taste sensitivity is associated with greater frailty in older adults.
- Reduced sweet and umami taste sensitivity correlates with lower mental health-related quality of life.
- Better diet quality and oral function are linked to improved sweet taste sensitivity.

## Abstract

•Low sweet taste sensitivity was associated with frailty.•Low sweet and umami sensitivities were related to lower mental HR-QoL.•A healthy Japanese diet tended to be associated with better sweet taste sensitivity.•Better oral function tended to be associated with higher sweet taste sensitivity.•Improving diet quality and oral function may help maintain taste and prevent frailty.

Low sweet taste sensitivity was associated with frailty.

Low sweet and umami sensitivities were related to lower mental HR-QoL.

A healthy Japanese diet tended to be associated with better sweet taste sensitivity.

Better oral function tended to be associated with higher sweet taste sensitivity.

Improving diet quality and oral function may help maintain taste and prevent frailty.

Reduced taste sensitivity may contribute to appetite loss and frailty in older adults, yet evidence based on objectively measured taste sensitivity is limited.

To examine the associations of objectively measured taste sensitivity with frailty, health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), diet quality, and oral function.

We assessed sweet, salt, and umami taste sensitivities in 70 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 82 years) using the whole-mouth method. Frailty was evaluated using the Basic Checklist, HR-QoL was assessed using the SF-36, diet quality was assessed using the Modified Japanese Diet Score (MJDS), and oral function was assessed by dentists using established criteria. Multiple regression analyses were performed to assess the associations of taste sensitivity with frailty, HR-QoL, diet quality, and oral function.

Lower sweet taste sensitivity was associated with greater frailty (coefficient [95% CI], 0.28 [0.10, 0.46], p = 0.004). Lower sweet and umami taste sensitivities were significantly associated with lower mental HR-QoL (−6.47 [−11.44, −1.50], p = 0.01 and −5.89 [−11.40, −0.38], p = 0.04, respectively). Higher diet quality and better oral function tended to be associated with better sweet taste sensitivity.

Sweet taste sensitivity is inversely associated with frailty and mental HR-QoL. Improving diet quality and oral function may contribute to improved taste sensitivity.