Sensory Perception of Sweet Taste in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Correlations with Glycemia and Hormones

Diet, medicine, and exercise are key components of a successful strategy to manage diabetes, and sensory perceptions of taste were shown to be determinants of food preferences and food choices in diabetics. However, the sensory perception of sweet tastes was reported to be impaired in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, which may result in improper dietary compliance and poor glycemic control. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess recognition thresholds of sucrose solutions by a whole-mouth gustatory method in T2DM patients compared to healthy subjects; we also determined correlations of markers of glycemia and hormones with sucrose-recognition thresholds. In total, 29 T2DM patients and 21 healthy subjects completed the study. The recognition thresholds of sucrose solutions were found to be significantly higher in T2DM subjects than in healthy subjects. Thresholds showed a significant positive correlation with glycated hemoglobin (Hb-A1c), but there were no correlations between recognition thresholds of sucrose solutions and fasting plasma glucose, insulin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), or leptin levels. In conclusion, the findings in the present study suggest that people with T2DM have a blunted sensory perception for sucrose which was significantly and positively correlated with Hb-A1c.