2020 Volume 35 Issue 3 Pages 209-217
Purpose：To elucidate the clinical characteristics of taste disorders in elderly people who account for the majority of those with taste disorders.
Methods：We divided 101 patients who visited our department in the last 6 years and 5 months from August 2013 to December 2019 with the chief complaint of dysgeusia, into two groups：elderly（65-90 yrs；75.8±6.6；n＝74）and non-elderly（30-62 yrs；50.9±7.1；n＝27）. Age distribution by gender, illness duration, trigger of onset, subjective symptoms of taste, oral complaints other than dysgeusia, medication status, systemic diseases, cause of taste disorder, taste test and blood test at first visit, treatment and prognosis were compared among the two groups.
Results：The duration of illness was significantly longer（19.3±28.1 mo vs. 8.9±16.8 mo）, trigger rate of onset was significantly shorter（46％ vs. 74％）, and medication history and prevalence of systemic diseases were significantly higher in the elderly group（91％ vs. 70％, 93％ vs. 59％）. The causes of dysgeusia were similar in both groups, but the elderly group was less psychogenic than the non-elderly group, and the proportion of oral diseases and zinc deficiency was higher in the former. About 20％ of this group had oral diseases, almost all of which were oral candidiasis. However, about 40％ of these cases did not suggest candidiasis only by medical examination. The response to treatment among the elderly was about 75％ of that among the non-elderly and their treatment period tended to be longer. In both groups, the longer the illness duration, the lower the improvement rate and the longer the treatment period.
Conclusions：It is suggested that oral candidiasis is often found in the elderly with taste disorders, and that it is necessary to perform a Candida culture test at the first visit. Since the illness duration is related to the treatment outcome and treatment period, early detection and appropriate treatment are necessary.
