若年女性の塩味味覚感度と推定食塩摂取量及び生活習慣との関連

Abstract

In recent years, there have been increasingly more young men and women with reduced taste sensitivity. Some reports have shown that consuming excess salt may reduce salt taste sensitivity and increase the risk of hypertension. We studied the relationships among salt taste sensitivity, estimated volume of salt intake calculated by urine levels of potassium and creatinine, food intake, and lifestyle habits by administering questionnaires to young Japanese women, and evaluated whether a taste sensitivity screening test contributes to the early detection of reduced salt taste sensitivity. Forty-five female students (20-24years) in the food and nutrition department of a university were recruited. We conducted a taste sensitivity examination by the filter paper disc method, and measured height, weight, and blood pressure. Urine potassium levels were detected by a newly launched personal device for measuring urinary Na/K ratio. We also measured food intake and lifestyle habits using the validated self-administered Brief Diet History Questionnaire (BDHQ) and our original questionnaire. The estimated average volume of salt intake per day was 7.6 (standard deviation[s.d.]=1.8)g. Four (4.9%) participants were estimated to have decreased salt sensitivity (decreased group; DG), and 41 were estimated to have normal salt sensitivity (normal group; NG). There was no correlation between the estimated volume of salt intake and level of salt taste sensitivity (p=0.68). Bean intake was significantly decreased in the DG compared with the NG (p=0.037). The percentage of late-evening meals and snack intake tended to irnecase in the DG compared with the NG =(p0.067). In conclusion, it was suggested that those who had decreased salt taste sensitivity also had decreased sensitivity to other tastes and the intake of late-evening meals and snacks was related to decreased salt taste sensitivity.