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Perception of Taste and Smell in Sitting and Standing Posture among Healthy Individuals: A Cross-sectional Study
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Correspondence
Dr. Sengottaiyan Anu,
Professor and Head, Department of Physiology, Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu-625009, India.
E-mail: anu.sengottaiyan@gmail.com
Introduction: Taste and smell are vital senses interlinked to each other that stimulate the desire to eat food. The physiological stress of a standing posture might alter taste and smell sensitivity, compelling individuals to eat more until satiety is achieved.
Aim: To determine and compare the perception of taste and smell in sitting and standing postures among healthy individuals.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the physiology laboratory of Velammal Medical College, Tamil Nadu, India, over a duration of two months from February 2021 to April 2021. The study included 100 medical students (both genders) aged between 18-21 years. For taste assessment, the Sip spit rinse test was performed, where taste strips were impregnated with sweet and salty solutions of different concentrations (0.05-0.00625 g/mL). Odour threshold was measured with various dilutions of rose water (1:10000 to 1:1) using olfactometer. Taste and smell thresholds in standing and sitting postures were analysed using the Paired sample T-test and Lin’s concordance test, using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 A significance level of 0.05 was used to interpret the p-value.
Results: A statistically significant difference (p<0.001**) was observed for taste threshold, with a higher mean value in the standing position (0.0108) compared to the sitting position (0.0086). No statistically significant difference was observed for olfactory threshold in both sitting and standing postures (p>0.05). Additionally, no significant gender difference was found for taste and smell threshold values (p=0.418).
Conclusion: Standing posture decreases taste sensitivity with no significant change in olfactory sensitivity.