Improvement in taste sensitivity following pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease
Sammanfattning
OBJECTIVE: Weight loss is common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD). Anorexia, postulated to be associated with alteration in taste sensitivity, may contribute to
weight loss in these patients. Pulmonary rehabilitation is known to lead to improved exercise
performance in patients with COPD. However, the relationship between pulmonary rehabilitation and
taste sensitivity has not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to compare taste sensitivity
before and after pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD.
DESIGN: Single-group intervention trial.
Patients: Twenty-two patients with COPD.
METHODS: The six-min walk distance (6MWD), COPD assessment test, body mass index, fat mass
index, fat-free mass index and taste test were conducted before and after 4-week pulmonary
rehabilitation. Taste sensitivity was evaluated using the filter-paper disc method for 4 taste stimuli.
Taste stimuli were salty, sweet, sour, and bitter tastes. Taste sensitivity was evaluated before and
after pulmonary rehabilitation using the taste recognition threshold.
RESULTS: Following pulmonary rehabilitation, the 6MWD, COPD assessment test, salty recognition
threshold, sweet recognition threshold and bitter recognition threshold improved significantly,
whereas there were no significant improvements in body mass index, fat mass index, fat-free mass
index or sour recognition threshold.
CONCLUSION: Pulmonary rehabilitation may improve taste sensitivity in patients with COPD.