Effects of Chemesthetic Stimuli, Age, and Genetic Taste Groups on Swallowing Apnea Duration

Objective. This study tested the hypotheses that swallowing apnea duration (SAD) will increase given chemesthetic stimuli (ie, water young), and genetic taste differences (supertasters > nontasters).Study Design. Prospective group design.Setting. University medical center.Subjects and Methods. Eighty healthy adult women were identified as nontasters and supertasters, equally comprising 2 age groups: 18 to 35 years (n = 40) and 60+ years (n = 40). The KayPentax Swallowing Signals Lab was used to acquire SAD via nasal cannula during individually randomized swallows of 5 mL deionized water, 2.7% w/v citric acid, seltzer water, and 50:50 diluted ethanol/water. Data were analyzed using path analysis, with the mediator of chemesthetic perception, adjusted for repeated measures.Results. Significant main effects of chemesthetic stimuli (P = .002), age (P < .001), and genetic taste differences (P = .04) on SAD were found. Older women and supertasters had longer SADs ...