TASTE DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH GASTROESOPHAGEALREFLUX DISEASE

INTRODUCTION: An altered taste perception has been found in some patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Direct damage of the taste buds by refluxate has been mentioned as causal mechanism. Our aim is to study the taste perception in GERD patients in the absence of ear-nose-throat diseases. AIMS & METHODS: Thirty-two clinically and instrumentally diagnosed GERD patients (24 males and 8 females, age range 25−69 years) and twenty gender and age matched healthy subjects (HS) were studied. All subjects underwent a standardized taste-testing to evaluate the ability of each subject to identify sweet, bitter, salty, umami and sour taste. The following substances served as specific taste agonists: acesulfame K (30 mM), quinine(10 mM), NaCl (120 mM), monopotassium glutamate+ inosine monophosphate, (30+0.5 mM), and citric acid (50 mM), respectively. In addition each subject was asked to score the intensity of each taste by using a 100mm line-visual analogue scale (VAS). RESULTS: The percentage of overall taste misperception was significantly higher in GERD than in HS (22% vs 13, respectively, p = 0.004). In the subset of GERD, but not in HS, a gender difference in the ability to correctly identify the taste (M 74% vs. F 87, p = 0.012) was also found. GERD patients compared to HS, reported a significant higher perception for acid (71±22 vs 58±22 mm, p = 0.004) and lower perception for salty (53±19 vs 66±20, p = 0.001) respectively. CONCLUSION: GERD patients showed a significant degree of taste misperception. The ability of GERD patients to score acidity more than healthy subjects may suggest a possible sensitization of sour taste receptors. A similar mechanism in esophagus could be supposed to participate to symptoms generation in these patients. The impairment of salty taste and enhancement of acid oral cavity perception in GERD patients need further studies