THE SALTY TASTE THRESHOLD AND TONGUE CLEANING HABITS IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULT MALE SMOKERS

Introduction: Smoking has adverse effects on the body such as various types of cancer, coronary heart diseases, stroke, peripheral vascular diseases, and oral changes including decreased taste sensation. There have been many studies on the effects of smoking on taste threshold, but specific studies in a group of young adult males and data on the frequency of tongue cleaning habits have not been reported. This study aims to determine the salty taste threshold and tongue cleaning habits in healthy young adult male smokers. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, and the subjects were taken by consecutive sampling. The criteria for the subjects were healthy males, aged 18-24 years old, who had a habit of smoking 10 cigarettes or more per day and had smoked for more than 1 year. A questionnaire was conducted including data on tongue cleaning habits before measuring the salt taste threshold using various concentrations of sodium chloride solution which are 0,012M, 0,014M, and 0,016M. Introduction: Smoking has adverse effects on the body such as various types of cancer, coronary heart diseases, stroke, peripheral vascular diseases, and oral changes including decreased taste sensation. There have been many studies on the effects of smoking on taste threshold, but specific studies in a group of young adult males and data on the frequency of tongue cleaning habits have not been reported. This study aims to determine the salty taste threshold and tongue cleaning habits in healthy young adult male smokers. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, and the subjects were taken by consecutive sampling. The criteria for the subjects were healthy males, aged 18-24 years old, who had a habit of smoking 10 cigarettes or more per day and had smoked for more than 1 year. A questionnaire was conducted including data on tongue cleaning habits before measuring the salt taste threshold using various concentrations of sodium chloride solution which are 0,012M, 0,014M, and 0,016M.

Sweet Taste Threshold among Medical Students with Family History of Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Diabetic patients have low sensitivity towards sweet taste, thus consuming more sugar. A young adult with family history of diabetes mellitus (FHD) who lives with diabetic parents may have an increased risk of overconsumption of sugar due to a similar dietary pattern, leading to diabetes. This study aimed to explore the difference in the sweet taste threshold (STT) between students with and without a family history of diabetes mellitus. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in October –November 2018 on Class 2018 medical students living in a student dormitory who were divided into those with family history of diabetes (FHD) and those without it (non-FHD). Family history of diabetes and other known diseases were self-reported. The three-Ascending Forced Choice method was used to determine the sweet recognition threshold. Mann-Whitney analysis was used to compare the sweet taste thresholds between the two groups. Result: A total of 183 subjects participated in this study. The non-FHD group had a higher rank of sweet taste threshold than subjects in the FHD group (94.21 vs 81.16), albeit insignificant (p=0.192). Interestingly, the modes of best estimation threshold (BET) for non-FHD group was than the FHD group (0.067 M vs 0.043 M). Conclusion: The BET for students without family history of diabetes is higher than those with family history of diabetes. It is imperative that low sugar consumption campaign should also aim young people without FHD.