Associations between self-reported dental status and diet.

The purpose of this study was to develop a battery of dental, nutritional and psychological health survey measures and to use this survey instrument to explore links between age, tooth loss and dietary risk. The survey was undertaken in a dental school and hospital. Forty-nine consecutive patients (age range 25-74 years) participated in this pilot study and completed the health survey instrument. A quarter of the patients reported changing dietary habits due to dental problems, 56% reported difficulty in chewing as a result of problems with their teeth or dentures, and 36% reported having to interrupt meals due to dental difficulties. Tooth number was associated with MNA scores (0.35, P=0.03, Pearson's correlation coefficient) and reported number of foods eaten (0.33, P=0.04, Pearson's correlation coefficient) from the questionnaire checklist. Lower MNA scores were associated with age (F=6.54; d.f.=1, 46; P<0.01) indicating that older adults were more at risk of poor nutritional status. Overall health was not rated as an important factor influencing food choice, and only 14% of the sample felt that they had nutritional problems. Poor diet and impaired food choice was associated with declining numbers of teeth and increasing age. Older adults may require dietary advice to increase awareness of the importance of a healthy diet.

Interactions between texture and trigeminal stimulus in a liquid food system: effects on elderly consumers preferences.

Changes to the chemical senses of taste and smell that accompany ageing are widely believed to influence food preferences and consumption in the elderly. The possibility that interactions between the residual senses of texture and trigeminal perception can compensate for specific losses was explored using a complex liquid food system, soup. A consumer panel of twenty-four young people (20-35, mean age 27.7 +/- 3.95 years) and twenty-four elderly people (>65 years, mean age 73.6 +/- 5.78 years) were used for preference tests. Eight soups were prepared using a standardised recipe, with four variations in texture and two levels of trigeminal stimulus. The consumer panel preferences were measured using a nine point hedonic scale. The hedonic data was corrected for a scaling effect, and principle components analysis was completed on the normalised data of the two age cohorts. The preference decision of both age groups was in the direction of the lower level of trigeminal stimulation. Overall the older panel was less discriminating than the younger panel. However the older panel made an attempt to grade the different textures while the younger panel seemed to ignore the textural attribute in their preference decision. The older panel's preference decreased as the thickness of the soups increased across trigeminal levels. These results suggest that perhaps a judicious selection of a certain texture or mouthfeel combined with a preferred level of trigeminal irritation could boost elderly food enjoyment. Finally, a postal questionnaire was circulated to gain an insight in to the consumer's background and thus partially explain the motivation for their preferences.

Odor threshold, recognition, discrimination and identification in centenarians.

The main purpose of this study was to learn the use of select measures that are relevant to olfactory discrimination, identification and recognition and to ascertain the appropriateness of extant methods and procedures for adaptation for use with the oldest-old. A second purpose of this study was to attempt initial examination of the relationship of different memorial systems in the oldest old through an atypical sensory modality. Twenty-one centenarians (mean=105.1 years) were tested on odor thresholds for phenethyl alcohol (PEA) and menthol, recognition and discrimination of lexically challenging odors, and identification of common odors. Chronological age was not found to be a significant predictor of abilities for any of the tasks. Thresholds for PEA and menthol were found to be better than anticipated levels and were associated with odor recognition and certainty of response. Mini Mental State Examination scores were not found to be associated with olfactory measures, contrary to expectations. Findings suggest much of the previous research into olfactorial abilities of older adults may have failed to account for the influence of illness, trauma, dementia and pathologies typically associated with age. In light of their performance on the tasks, the relative good health and cognitive status of the participants strengthens the idea that olfaction is an appropriate addition to diagnostic tests of Alzheimer's and other diseases.