In health and illness: does taste remain consistent? Exploring the influence of inflammation on taste perception through a systematic review and meta-analysis

S.C. López-Salido, H.A. Espinoza-Gutiérrez, F.E. Housni, M.E. Flores-Soto, J.M. Viveros-Paredes

Departamento de Farmacología, Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo Farmacéutico, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenierías, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México. juan.viveros@academicos.udg.mx

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• Nutrition

OBJECTIVE: Dysgeusia is characterized by a loss of taste perception, leading to malnutrition. This situation affects inflammatory conditions such as respiratory and neurological conditions, obesity, cancer, chemotherapy, aging, and many others. To date, there is not much information on the prevalence and risk of dysgeusia in an inflammatory condition; also, it is unclear which flavor is altered.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically searched three databases from January 2018 to January 2023. Participants were children, adults, or elderly persons with an inflammatory condition and evaluated taste loss. A random effects model was used for statistical analysis to calculate the pooled odds ratio with its corresponding 95.0% confidence interval to estimate the probability of taste alteration (dysgeusia) in an inflammatory condition.

RESULTS: The data allowed us to conduct a systematic review, including 63 original articles and 15 studies to perform the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis indicated a heterogenicity of 84.7% with an odds ratio of 3.25 (2.66-3.96), indicating a significant risk of Alzheimer’s disease, SARS-CoV-2, chemotherapy, and rhinosinusitis.

CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory conditions and taste alterations are linked. Dysgeusia is associated with a higher risk of malnutrition and poorer general health status, especially in vulnerable populations.

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