An investigationof sensory taste stimuli, the factors that affect them and their potential role in the management of dysphagia

Background In the management of dysphagia, bolus modification is well utilised but sensory bolus modification as a compensatory strategy is not a typical treatment option in clinical practice. This study is a development on Condron et al. (2014) and sets to explore taste stimuli and the association of influencing factors such as intensity, agreeability, time and effort, plus demographic factors such as gender and age with different taste stimuli that may affect sensory taste stimuli use in dysphagia management. Method Ethics were approved by UL Ethics Board and participants were recruited via UL internal events email and posters. Participants were blinded during the administration of 14 tastes and each taste was rated on a 9 point hedonic scale for agreeability and intensity and on a binary scale for time and effort. The study was located in the UL Clinical Therapies Clinic and UL Student Union Building. Results 204 non-dysphagic participants (114 males : 90 females), met the inclusion criteria. This study identiifed taste stimuli which were high in intensity and agreeablity e.g. There was a significant positive correlation between agreeability and intensity for Dark Chocolate (rho = 0.222, p < 0.002). There was a significant positive correlation between agreeability and intensity for the age group 55+ e.g. Mints (rho = 0.774, p< 0.005). 6 The effect of agreeability on intensity was influenced by age e.g. Rosemary: 35-54 years (r^2 = +0.86) vs 55+ years (r^2 = -0.644) and Lemon Juice: 35-54 years (r^2 = -0.444) vs 55+ years (r^2 = +0.444). The effect of agreeability on intensity was influenced by gender e.g. Dark chocolate: Male (r^2 = +0.556) vs Female (r^2 = -0.04) and Rosemary: Male (r^2 = -0.272) vs Female (r^2 = +0.86). Increased effort was associated with increased transit time e.g. Mints: Increased effort of 83.3% was associated with an increased transit time of 87.7%. Equally, decreased effort was associated with decreased transit time e.g. Tonic Water: decreased effort of 54.4% was associated with ratings of decreased transit time 49.8%. Conclusions Dark chocolate and mints are taste stimuli which should be considered in the management of dysphagia due to their positive correlations between agreeability and intensity.