Risk factors related to the reduction of subjective taste ability in middle-to old-aged nursing home residents in Sri Lanka : a cross-sectional study

The purpose of this study is to verify the factors significantly related to the reduction of subjective taste ability of 1,015 middle-aged and elderly (50 - 96 years old) at 25 randomized selected nursing homes in Sri Lanka. Binary logistic regression analyses by gender were performed using IBM SPSS on following variables. A dependent variable is taste ability, and 27 independent variables are age, daily lifestyle, nutritional problems, general status, dental status and physiological thresholds of taste abilities (sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and umami). Smell ability (p < 0.001 - 0.05) and the Self-Report Questionnaire, 20-item version :SRQ 20 (p < 0.01 - 0.05) were significant risk factors of reducing taste ability in both genders. Especially, smell ability was closely linked to taste ability. Existence of comprehensive perception of “flavor” composed of taste and smell ability was illustrated. Significant gender differences factors were observed in long term care needs (p < 0.05), sleeping (p < 0.01 - 0.001), bowel condition (p < 0.05) in males; and height (p < 0.05), weight (p < 0.05), BMI 3 categories (p < 0.05), and brushing (p < 0.05) in females. Other variables such as age and five types of physiological taste ability were not significant in both genders. The results of this investigation also strongly indicated that the perception of subjective sense of taste was different from the objective sense of taste. Epidemiological studies such as cohort or intervention studies focusing on a relationship between subjective taste ability and sense of smell are necessary to identify more accurate and changeable risk factors for dysgeusia in order to improve elderly’s nutritional intake in Sri Lanka

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1. 体重においては,群別にみると4群の伸びが最も良く,次いで3群・2群・1群の順であった。各群についてみると,いずれも玄米群が白米群を上回った。その差は4群・3群・2群・1群の順に大きかった。飼育開始4週目まではいずれの群も増加がみられたが,それ以降は3群・4群の玄米飼育のマウスの増加は良かったが,他の群のマウスの体重は殆んど増加しなかった。 2. トレッドミルランニングによる走行実験においては,1群の玄米飼育のマウスは白米飼育のマウスの2倍の運動負荷に耐えた。他の群においては白米飼育のマウスは玄米飼育のマウスの60～70%の走行時間で走行困難となり疲労度が多かった。走行前と走行後の心拍数の差は,走行後が33%増であり,各群の有意差はみられなかった。 3. 血液は,検査の結果,赤血球数・白血球数・血色素量すべて平均値の範囲内で,各群の有意差はみられなかった

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1.平均栄養摂取量は,19歳女子普通労作の栄養所要量と比較すると,ビタミンC以外は不足の状態であり,特にカルシウムの不足が目立った。また摂取栄養量には個人差がかなりみられ所要量の±10%以内の者は,エネルギーにおいては36.8%,脂質においてはわずか21.1%であった。 2.朝食・昼食・夕食・間食における栄養摂取量の比率においては,間食の占める割合が比較的多い傾向にあり,これは女子短大生の特徴といえる。 3.栄養比率については,エネルギーの栄養素別摂取構成比は,たんぱく質14.8%,脂質26.9%,糖質58.3%であり,厚生省の示している適正比率目標にほぼ一致していた。また動物性たんぱく質比は50%,糖質エネルギー比は45.6%脂質エネルギーは27.2%であり,これらの比率も適当であると思われる。しかし個人的には問題のある者もかなりみられた。 4.食品群別摂取量については,高居ら^7)の示す食糧構成案と比較すると,パン類・めん類・いも類・菓子・獣鳥肉類・卵類においては充足されているが,他の食品群は不足し,特に米類・砂糖・みその不足が目立った。 5.主食の種類は,その頻度において全体として米飯を主体とする傾向にあるが,朝食ではパンが,昼食では麺類が比較的多く摂られていた。 6.外食の状況は,その頻度においては,昼食・夕食・朝食の順であり,その主食の種類は,全体では米飯・パン・麺類がはぼ同数であったが朝食ではパンが,夕食では米飯が多かった。 7.欠食状況は,朝食では34.2%,昼食では,23.7%,夕食では7.9%の者が欠食しており,国民栄養調査(昭和56年度15～20歳)^2)と比較するといずれも高い比率であった。また朝食における欠食が最も多く,朝食を5日間連続欠食した者も2.6%あった。なお1日に1回以上欠食した者としなかった者とでは,エネルギー摂取量に250kcalの差がみられた。 8.食品添加物の1人1日当たりの摂取品目は10～69品目,平均43品目であり,摂取量は平均4.4gであった。これは谷村^15),藤井ら^16)の述べているものと近い数値であった。以上のごとく,栄養摂取量の不足や食品の摂り方における量不足と偏り,間食の摂り過ぎや欠食の多いことなど,問題点が多くみられた。従ってこれらのことがらについてきめ細かい指導の必要性を強く感じた

Media coverage and stress in evacuees from Fukushima of the Great East Japan Earthquake

The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), on March 11, 2011, forced many residents of Fukushima to evacuate to other prefectures. It is known as a triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accidents. People were exposed to repeated terrifying images of the disaster, such as footage of the tsunami and explosions at the nuclear plants, on television and every other type of media. The purpose of this study was to confirm evacuees’utilization rates of media coverage and verify the influences of that coverage on the change of their subjective stress for three years (stress3Y) from just after GEJE. Analyses were performed using anonymous self-administered questionnaires with 859 evacuees. First, comparisons among the types of media coverage consumed and age groups by gender were conducted to verify any unevenness or linear trends. Multiple regression analysis was then performed with the objective variable of stress3Y, and 24 explanatory variables : gender, age group, family structures, types of news source, and visual analogue scale (VAS) for measuring influences of media coverage. Few differences were found between the genders. The news source with the highest utilization was television, and over 70% of evacuees consumed multiple news sources. Regarding age differences, an upward age trend in newspaper utilization rate was observed, and downward trends were observed regarding mobile phone and internet usage. Stress3Ys were significantly influenced both positively (merits) and negatively (demerits) by television coverage. Information obtained via television particularly contributed to the reduction of stress, but oft-repeated scenes of disaster, such as coverage of the tsunami on television, seemed to cause evacuees and even non-evacuees to experience trauma. These results indicate that, in order to prevent disaster trauma, excessive repeated coverage of actual disaster scenes on television should be reconsidered in order to avoid exacerbating disaster-related stress and post-traumatic stress. Media organizations should restrict the airing of vivid disaster scenes in the same way that they do for graphic murder and war scenes