服薬アドヒアランス向上を目的とした中学生の食品による苦味マスキング官能評価

抄録

Medication adherence is still a critical issue in pediatric and adolescent patients, for whom bitterness is a major barrier to oral drug intake. This study aimed to assess food-based bitterness-masking effects in junior high school students, with comparisons to adults. Junior high school students and adults participated in a nonblinded sensory evaluation in which a bitter food model (bitter gourd powder) was ingested alone or together with commercially available foods with different taste qualities. Bitterness intensity was assessed using a numerical rating scale. The effects of water temperature (room temperature, cold, and warm) on bitterness perception were examined using mineral water. A questionnaire survey assessed medication experience and taste preferences among junior high school students. The results revealed that sweet, salty, or fatty foods significantly reduced bitterness scores in junior high school students, whereas sour foods showed no significant bitterness-masking effects. Contrarily, adults demonstrated significant bitterness reduction with sweet, salty, fatty, and sour foods. In the mineral water test, bitterness scores in junior high school students were significantly higher with cold or warm water than with room-temperature water, whereas no temperature-related differences were observed in adults. Furthermore, habitual preference for bitter foods, including black coffee, was negatively correlated with bitterness perception in junior high school students. These findings suggest that bitterness-masking effects of foods and the influence of water temperature vary by age group and that habitual taste preferences may affect bitterness perception in adolescents. Strategic food selection can serve as a critical adjunctive therapy to improve medication adherence among pediatric and adolescent patients.