Main Taste Effects on Swallowing Apnea Duration in Healthy Adults

ObjectiveThis study examined swallowing apnea duration (SAD) and respiratory phase patterns as a function of taste, tastes combined with barium, age, and genetic taste group.Study DesignProspective group design.SettingUniversity medical center.Subjects and MethodsEighty healthy adult women were identified as nontasters and supertasters and equally comprised 2 age groups: 18 to 35 years (n = 40) and 60+ years (n = 40). The KayPentax Swallowing Signals Lab was used to acquire SAD and respiratory phase patterns via nasal cannula during randomized 5-mL swallows of water, 1.0 M sucrose (sweet), 1.0 M sodium chloride (salty), and 0.032 M caffeine (bitter) alone and mixed with barium. The SAD and respiratory patterns were analyzed in a linear mixed model and a binary logistic regression generalized estimating equation model, respectively.ResultsA significant main effect of age was found (P = .007). Older women demonstrated longer SAD than younger women. There were no significant effects of taste or genetic taste...