Perception of Taste and Smell in Sitting and Standing Posture among Healthy Individuals: A Cross-sectional Study
Published: June 1, 2024 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2024/69429.19539
Suresh Himawani, Rajendran Ramesh, Sengottaiyan Anu, James Vijay Anto
1. Intern, Department of Physiology, Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
2. Professor, Department of General Medicine, Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
3. Professor and Head, Department of Physiology, Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
4. Statistician, Department of Community Medicine, Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Correspondence
Dr. Sengottaiyan Anu,
Professor and Head, Department of Physiology, Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Madurai-625009, Tamil Nadu, India.
E-mail: anu.sengottaiyan@gmail.com
Introduction: Taste and smell are vital senses interlinked to each other that stimulate the desire to eat food. The physiological stress of a standing posture might alter taste and smell sensitivity, compelling individuals to eat more until satiety is achieved.
Aim: To determine and compare the perception of taste and smell in sitting and standing postures among healthy individuals.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the physiology laboratory of Velammal Medical College, Tamil Nadu, India, over a duration of two months from February 2021 to April 2021. The study included 100 medical students (both genders) aged between 18-21 years. For taste assessment, the Sip spit rinse test was performed, where taste strips were impregnated with sweet and salty solutions of different concentrations (0.05-0.00625 g/mL). Odour threshold was measured with various dilutions of rose water (1:10000 to 1:1) using olfactometer. Taste and smell thresholds in standing and sitting postures were analysed using the Paired sample T-test and Lin’s concordance test, using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 A significance level of 0.05 was used to interpret the p-value.
Results: A statistically significant difference (p<0.001**) was observed for taste threshold, with a higher mean value in the standing position (0.0108) compared to the sitting position (0.0086). No statistically significant difference was observed for olfactory threshold in both sitting and standing postures (p>0.05). Additionally, no significant gender difference was found for taste and smell threshold values (p=0.418).
Conclusion: Standing posture decreases taste sensitivity with no significant change in olfactory sensitivity.
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