Elucidation of Sensory Characteristics and Food Preferences in the Elderly

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02873858

Acronym

AUPALESENS

Enrollment

611

Registered

2016-08-22

Start date

2010-12-31

Completion date

2011-07-31

Last updated

2016-08-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Malnutrition

Keywords

elderly

Brief summary

Malnutrition is a frequent problem in persons older than 65 years: the prevalence of malnutrition can reach 25 to 29% in persons living at home who require help, figures vary between 19 and 38% for those living in institutions, and finally, the prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized elderly patients can reach 30 to 90%. A few studies have attempted to explain modifications in attitudes, behaviour, the frequency of meals or nutritional status in the elderly by a fall in chemosensory sensitivity The aim of this project is to test the hypothesis that perhaps it is not as much the capacity to perceive a smell or a taste that affects eating behaviour in the elderly as their ability to distinguish between smells or tastes on the one hand (perceptual processing), and their ability to correctly interpret a chemosensory signal on the other (cognitive processing).

Interventions

OTHERsmell and taste tests

Study design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

65 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Persons older than 65 years. * Persons with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension stabilized by a treatment. * Persons cognitively able to carry out the tests and fill in the questionnaires (Folstein test between 22 and 30).

Exclusion criteria

* Any person suffering from an acute disease at the time of the test. * Any person presenting any allergy whatsoever (food, mites, pollen…). * Any person suffering from asthma or severe respiratory disorders (lung cancer, tracheotomy…). * Any person presenting anosmia (total loss of olfaction) from birth or following physical trauma (head injury) or due to disease (severe rhinitis). * Persons with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension not stabilized by treatment. * Any person presenting life expectancy of less than 6 months.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Indeed the level of dependency of scores at each of the olfactory tests, gustatory and masticatory	Day 1

Countries

France

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026