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Investigation of smell and taste function in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2019

A Yenigun ,
N Degirmenci ,
S S Goktas ,
R Dogan  and
O Ozturan
A Yenigun*
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
N Degirmenci
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
S S Goktas
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
R Dogan
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
O Ozturan
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Alper Yenigun, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Adnan Menderes Boulevard, Vatan Street, 34093 Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey E-mail: alperyenigun@gmail.com Fax: +90 (212) 453 18 70
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Abstract

Objective

This study investigated the relationship between disease severity and taste and smell functions in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

Methods

A total of 65 patients with recurrent upper airway obstruction during sleep were included. Participants were divided into four groups according to apnoea-hypopnoea index, obtained on polysomnography. Smell and taste tests were performed on these patients.

Results

A significant difference was observed between the smell thresholds of the groups for the identification test (p = 0.016). In the taste test, significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of sweet, sour, salty and bitter taste test thresholds (p = 0.029, p = 0.0005, p = 0.001 and p = 0.017, respectively).

Conclusion

As sleep apnoea severity increased (according to the apnoea-hypopnoea index) in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome patients, the taste and smell thresholds decreased due to the effect of neuropathy and inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.

Keywords

Obstructive Sleep Apnea SyndromeSense of SmellTaste SenseInflammation

Information

Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 133 , Issue 5 , May 2019 , pp. 376 - 379
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited, 2019 

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Footnotes

Dr A Yenigun takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

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