Abstract
Taste acuity is important for ensuring a healthy dietary intake. Fatigue or stress is thought to be one of several factors that may affect taste acuity. However, studies of the role of fatigue or stress in taste acuity, especially in children, have been rather limited. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between taste acuity and fatigue or stress in 58 healthy elementary school children. Acuity for differentiating four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour and bitter) was evaluated using the filter-paper disc method. Salivary α-amylase was mea-sured as a marker of stress, and fatigue was assessed using the Chalder fatigue scale. When the subjects were divided into four groups on the basis of stress level, we found no difference in the prevalence of acuity disorders for the four tastes. Analysis using the Chalder fatigue scale demonstrated that the prevalence of taste disorders was higher in the fatigue group than in the non-fatigue group, i.e. physical fatigue; sour taste p＝0.02, mental fatigue; salty taste p＝0.03, total fatigue; sour taste p＜0.01, bitter taste p＝0.02. The present results indicate the possibility that fatigue in children may impair their acuity in recognizing certain tastes.
