Bitter, Sweet, Salty, Sour and Umami Taste Perception Decreases with Age: Sex-Specific Analysis, Modulation by Genetic Variants and Taste-Preference Associations in 18 to 80 Year-Old Subjects

There is growing interest in relating tasteperception to diet and healthy aging. However, there is still limited information on the influence of age, sex and genetics on tasteacuity as well as on the relationship between tasteperception and tastepreferences. We have analysed the influence of age on the intensity rating of the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sourand umami(separately and jointly in a “total tastescore”) and their modulation by sex and genetics in a relatively healthy population (men and women) aged 18–80 years (n = 1020 Caucasian European participants). Tasteperception was determined by challenging subjects with solutions of the five basic tastesusing standard prototypical tastants (6-n- propylthiouracil(PROP), NaCl, sucrose, monopotassium glutamateand citric acid) at 5 increasing concentrations (I to V). We also measured tastepreferences and determined the polymorphisms of the genes taste2 receptor member 38 ( TAS2R38), taste1 receptor member 2 ( TAS2R38) and sodium channel epithelial 1 beta subunit (SCNN1B), as TAS2R38-rs713598, TAS1R2-rs35874116 and SCNN1B-rs239345 respectively. We found a statistically significant decrease in tasteperception (“total tastescore”) with increasing age for all the concentrations analysed. This association was stronger for the higher concentrations (p = 0.028; p = 0.012; p = 0.005; p = 4.20 × 10−5 and p = 1.48 × 10−7, for I to V in the multivariable-adjusted models). When we analysed tastequalities (using concentration V), the intensity rating of all the 5 tasteswas diminished with age (p < 0.05 for all). This inverse association differed depending on the test quality, being higher for bitter(PROP) and sour. Women perceived tastesignificantly more intense than men (p = 1.4 × 10−8 for total tastescore). However, there were differences depending on the taste, umamibeing the lowest (p = 0.069). There was a complex association between the ability to perceive a tasteand the preference for the same. Significant associations were, nevertheless, found between a higher perception of sour tasteand a higher preference for it in women. In contrast, the higher perception of sweet was significantly associated with a higher preference for bitterin both, men and women. The TAS2R38-rs713598 was strongly associated with bitter(PROP) taste(p = 1.38 × 10−50), having a significant interaction with sex (p = 0.030). The TAS1R2-rs35874116 was not significantly associated with sweet, whereas the SCNN1B-rs239345 was associated (p = 0.040) with salty taste. In conclusion, the inverse association between age and perceived tasteintensity as well as the additional influence of sex and some genetic polymorphisms give rise to large inter-individual differences in tasteperception and tastepreferences that should be taken into account in future studies and for applications in precision nutrition for healthy aging.