Abstract
Background
Small clinical studies have suggested that individuals with insufficient sleep could
experience taste dysfunction. However, this notion has not been examined in a large-scale,
population-based study.
Objective
This study aimed to examine whether overall sleep quality, as assessed by insomnia,
daytime sleepiness, snoring, and sleep duration, was associated with the odds of having
altered taste perception in a large population-based study.
Design
This was a cross-sectional study that used data from a subcohort of the Kailuan study,
an ongoing multicenter cohort study that began in 2006 in Tangshan City, China.
Participants/setting
The participants were 11,030 adults aged 25 years or older (mean age 53.7 ± 10.7 years),
who were free of neurodegenerative diseases. All the participants had undergone questionnaire
assessments and medical examinations at Kailuan General Hospital from June 2012 to
October 2013.
Main outcome measures
Altered taste and olfactory perception were assessed via a questionnaire with two
questions regarding whether participants had any problems with sense of taste or smell
for ≥3 months.
Statistical analyses performed
The association between sleep quality and altered taste/olfactory perception was examined
using a logistic regression model, adjusting for age, sex, lifestyle factors (eg,
obesity, smoking, alcohol intake, and physical activity) and health status (eg, lipid
profiles, blood pressure, modification use, and presence of chronic diseases).
Results
Poor overall sleep quality was associated with a higher risk of having altered taste
perception (adjusted odds ratio for low vs high sleep quality 2.03, 95% CI 1.42 to
2.91; P < 0.001). Specifically, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and short sleep duration, but
not prolonged sleep duration and snoring, were significantly associated with altered
taste perception. A significant association between overall sleep quality and the
risk of having altered olfactory perception was also observed (adjusted odds ratio
for low vs high sleep quality 2.17, 95% CI 1.68 to 2.80; P < 0.001).
Conclusions
In this population-based study, poor sleep quality was associated with a high likelihood
of altered taste perception.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- An international survey of sleeping problems in the general population.Curr Med Res Opin. 2008; 24: 307-317
- The association between sleep problems and perceived health status: A Japanese nationwide general population survey.Sleep Med. 2012; 13: 831-837
- Epidemiology of sleep and sleep disorders in the Netherlands.Sleep Med. 2017; 30: 229-239
- The prevalence of sleep disturbances and sleep quality in older Chinese adults: A comprehensive meta-analysis.Behav Sleep Med. 2018; 31: 1-15
- Insomnia and the risk of acute myocardial infarction: A population study.Circulation. 2011; 124: 2073-2208
- Restless legs syndrome as a prognostic tool for cardiovascular disease.Sleep. 2015; 38: 995-996
- Increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged men with obstructive sleep apnea: A 7-year follow-up.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002; 166: 159-165
- Restless legs syndrome and hypertension in middle-aged women.Hypertension. 2011; 58: 791-796
- Sleep and CKD in Chinese adults: A cross-sectional study.Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2017; 12: 885-892
- The subjective meaning of sleep quality: A comparison of individuals with and without insomnia.Sleep. 2008; 31: 383-393
- Clinical and polysomnographic predictors of the natural history of poor sleep in the general population.Sleep. 2012; 35: 689-697
- Natural history of excessive daytime sleepiness: Role of obesity, weight loss, depression, and sleep propensity.Sleep. 2015; 38: 351-360
- Chemosensory function and dysfunction.Crit Rev Oral Biol Med. 1998; 9: 267-291
- Hormones in the naso-oropharynx: Endocrine modulation of taste and smell.Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2009; 20: 163-170
- New insights into the role of nutrition in CVD prevention.Curr Cardiol Rep. 2015; 17: 26
- Impact of beverage intake on metabolic and cardiovascular health.Nutr Rev. 2015; 73: 120-129
- Effects of sleep fragmentation on appetite and related hormone concentrations over 24 h in healthy men.Br J Nutr. 2013; 109: 748-756
- Brief communication: Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite.Ann Intern Med. 2004; 141: 846-850
- Neuropeptide Y and leptin in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: Role of obesity.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005; 171: 183-187
- Plasma neuropeptide Y levels in Chinese patients with primary insomnia.Sleep Breath. 2015; 19: 617-622
- Sleep, food cravings and taste.Appetite. 2018; 125: 210-216
- Characterization of the relationships between sleep duration, quality, architecture, and chemosensory function in nonobese females.Chem Senses. 2018; 43: 223-228
- Associations between chemosensory function, sweet taste preference, and the previous night’s sleep in non-obese males.Food Qual Pref. 2019; 75: 105-112
- Changes in taste preference and steps taken after sleep curtailment.Physiol Behav. 2016; 163: 228-233
- Probable insomnia is associated with future total energy intake and diet quality in men.Am J Clin Nutr. 2016; 104: 462-469
- Taste perception of sodium chloride in relation to dietary intake of salt.Am J Clin Nutr. 1982; 35: 510-520
- Odor identification accuracy declines following 24 h of sleep deprivation.J Sleep Res. 2006; 15: 111-116
- The effect of obstructive sleep apnea on olfactory functions.Laryngoscope. 2014; 124: 2190-2194
- Longitudinal patterns of blood pressure, incident cardiovascular events, and all-cause mortality in normotensive diabetic people.Hypertension. 2016; 68: 71-77
- Risk factors for probable REM sleep behavior disorder: A community-based study.Neurology. 2016; 86: 1306-1312
- Probable REM sleep behavior disorder and risk of stroke: A prospective study.Neurology. 2017; 88: 1849-1855
- Smell and taste dysfunction is associated with higher serum total cholesterol concentrations in Chinese adults.J Nutr. 2017; 147: 1546-1551
- Assessing insomnia in adolescents: Comparison of Insomnia Severity Index, Athens Insomnia Scale and Sleep Quality Index.Sleep Med. 2011; 12: 463-470
- Validation of the Taiwanese version of the Athens Insomnia Scale and assessment of insomnia in Taiwanese cancer patients.J Pain Symptom Manage. 2011; 41: 904-914
- A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: The Epworth sleepiness scale.Sleep. 1991; 14: 540-545
- Validation of a Chinese version of the Epworth sleepiness scale.Qual Life Res. 2002; 11: 817-821
- Age-related changes in the prevalence of smell/taste problems among the United States adult population. Results of the 1994 disability supplement to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1998; 855: 716-722
- Lifestyle factors and risk of restless legs syndrome: Prospective cohort study.J Clin Sleep Med. 2016; 12: 187-194
- A longitudinal study of altered taste and smell perception and change in blood pressure.Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2018; 28: 877-883
- 2018 Chinese Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension: A report of the Revision Committee of Chinese Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension.J Geriatr Cardiol. 2019; 16: 182-241
- SAS Statistics [computer program]. Version 9.2. SAS Institute, Inc, Cary, NC2009
- Influence of physical exercise on human preferences for various taste solutions.Chem Senses. 1998; 23: 417-421
- Prevalence and risk factors of taste and smell impairment in a nationwide representative sample of the US population: A cross-sectional study.BMJ Open. 2016; 6e013246
- Sex and race differences in caloric intake during sleep restriction in healthy adults.Am J Clin Nutr. 2014; 100: 559-566
- Dietary intake following experimentally restricted sleep in adolescents.Sleep. 2013; 36: 827-834
- Snoring and sleep-disordered breathing in young children: Subjective and objective correlates.Sleep. 2004; 27: 87-94
- Continuous positive air pressure improves orthonasal olfactory function of patients with obstructive sleep apnea.Sleep Med. 2017; 34: 24-29
- The effects of partial sleep restriction and altered sleep timing on olfactory performance.Eur J Clin Nutr. 2017; 71: 1471-1472
- The relationships between the clinical and polysomnographic findings and the olfactory function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.Sleep Breath. 2015; 19: 1301-1307
- Olfactory dysfunction and related nutritional risk in free-living, elderly women.J Am Diet Assoc. 1995; 95: 879-884
- Modulation of taste sensitivity by GLP-1 signaling.J Neurochem. 2008; 106: 455-463
- Leptin as a modulator of sweet taste sensitivities in mice.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000; 97: 11044-11049
- Short-term sleep deprivation with nocturnal light exposure alters time-dependent glucagon-like peptide-1 and insulin secretion in male volunteers.Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2016; 310: E41-E50
- Modulation of taste sensitivity by GLP-1 signaling in taste buds.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009; 1170: 98-101
- Restricted and disrupted sleep: Effects on autonomic function, neuroendocrine stress systems and stress responsivity.Sleep Med Rev. 2008; 12: 197-210
- Mouse taste buds use serotonin as a neurotransmitter.J Neurosci. 2005; 25: 843-847
- Somatosensory factors in taste perception: Effects of active tasting and solution temperature.Physiol Behav. 2012; 107: 488-495
- A metabotropic glutamate receptor variant functions as a taste receptor.Nat Neurosci. 2000; 3: 113-119
Biography
Y. Gao is an instructor, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Biography
J. Li is an instructor, Department of Nephrology, Kailuan General Hospital, Tangshan, China.
Biography
L. Cui is associate professor, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Kailuan General Hospital, Tangshan, China.
Biography
R. Shu is associate professor, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Kailuan General Hospital, Tangshan, China.
Biography
S. Wu is a professor, Department of Cardiology, Kailuan General Hospital, Tangshan, China.
Biography
F. Cheng is a nutrition researcher, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Chicago, IL.
Biography
X. Gao is an associate professor and director, Nutritional Epidemiology Lab, Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 19, 2020
Accepted:
June 18,
2020
Received:
October 11,
2019
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This work is supported by the start-up grant from the College of Health and Human Development and the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University (to X. Gao), and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant No. 81700087, to Y. Gao).
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS The authors responsibilities were as follows—S. Wu and X. Gao designed the research; J. Li, L. Cui, and R. Shu conducted the research; F. Cheng analyzed the data and reviewed the manuscript; Y. Gao wrote and revised the manuscript; X. Gao supervised the analysis, led interpretation of the results, and edited and reviewed the manuscript; and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
