Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Smell and taste function in children with chronic kidney disease

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Pediatric Nephrology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Loss of appetite and poor growth are common in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and changes in smell and/or taste function may be responsible, but the hypothesis has not been proven. This aims of this prospective age- and gender-controlled study were to determine whether: (1) changes in smell and taste function occur in children with CKD; (2) smell or taste dysfunction are associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR); (3) there is an association between smell or taste loss and body mass index (BMI). The study cohort consisted of 72 children of whom 20 were CKD stage 3–5 patients, 12 were CKD stage 2 patients, 20 were clinical controls (CC) and 20 were healthy children (HC). The CKD patients and clinical controls were recruited from Sydney Children’s Hospital and The Children’s Hospital, Westmead, and healthy controls were recruited from a local school. Scores for each group from taste and smell chemosensory function tests were compared, and their relationship with renal function and BMI investigated. The CKD stage 3–5 group had a significantly lower taste identification score (85.6%, P < 0.001) than the CC (94.8%) and HC (94.8%) groups, with almost one third of the children in the CKD stage 3–5 group exhibiting taste loss. Decreased taste function was associated with decreased eGFR (r = 0.43, P < 0.01), but no association between BMI and taste function was found (r = 0.001, P > 0.9). Odour identification scores were not different; however, there was a positive relationship with BMI (r = 0.427, P = 0.006). We conclude that a loss of taste can occur in children with CKD and that when it occurs, it worsens as eGFR declines and is found early in kidney disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Rees L, Rigden SP, Ward GM (1989) Chronic renal failure and growth. Arch Dis Child 64:573–577

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Betts PR, McGrath G (1974) Growth pattern and dietary intake of children with chronic renal insufficiency. Br Med J 912:189–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Norman LJ, Coleman JE, Macdonald IA (2000) Nutrition and growth in relation to severity of renal disease in children. Pediatr Nephrol 15:259–265

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Schapera MR, Moel DI, Kamath SK, Olson R, Beauchamp GK (1986) Taste perception of children with chronic renal failure. J Am Diet Assoc 86:1359–1365

    Google Scholar 

  5. Dobell E, Chan M, Williams P, Allman M (1993) Food preferences and food habits of patients with chronic renal failure undergoing dialysis. J Am Diet Assoc 93:1129–1135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Leshem M, Rudoy J (1997) Hemodialysis increases the preference for salt in soup. Physiol Behav 61:65–69

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Schiffman S, Nash M, Dackis C (1978) Reduced olfactory discrimination in patients on chronic hemodialysis. Physiol Behav 21:239–242

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Corwin J (1989) Olfactory identification in hemodialysis: Acute and chronic effects on discrimination and response bias. Neuropsychologia 27:513–522

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Vreman H, Venter C, Leegwater J, Oliver C, Weiner W (1980) Taste, smell and zinc metabolism in patients with chronic renal failure. Nephron 26:163–170

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Bellisle F, Dartois A-M, Kleinknecht C, Broyer M (1995) Alteration of sweet taste in children with renal insufficiency. Nephrology 16:203–208

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Schwartz G, Haycock G, Eldermann CJ, Spitzer A (1976) A simple estimate of glomerular filtration rate in children derived from body length and plasma creatinine Pediatrics 58:259–263

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Laing DG, Segovia C, Fark T, Laing ON, Jinks AL, Nikolaus J, Hummel T (2008) Tests for screening olfactory and gustatory function in school-age children. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 139:74–82

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Doty RL, Shaman P, Applebaum SL, Giberson R, Siksorski L, Rosenberg L (1984) Smell identification ability: changes with age. Science 226:1441–1443

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Doty RL, Philip S, Reddy K, Kerr KL (2003) Influences of antihypertensive and antihyperlipidemic drugs on the senses of taste and smell: a review. J Hypertens 21:1805–1813

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Armstrong JE, Laing DG, Wilkes F, Laing ON (2008) Otitis media and olfactory function in Australian Aboriginal children. Chem Senses 33:503–507

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Schiffman SS (1983) Taste and smell in disease. N Engl J Med 308:1257–1279

    Google Scholar 

  17. Shuichi T, Michi W, Nobutaka A, Takashi I, Kohichi S, Akio F (2005) Comparative study of taste disturbance by Losartan and Perindopril in healthy volunteers. J Clin Pharmacol 45:1319–1323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Neil-Dwyer G, Marus A (1989) ACE inhibitors in hypertension: assessment of smell and taste function in clinical trials. J Hum Hypertens 3:169–176

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Tsuruoka S, Wakaumi M, Ioka T, Yamamoto H, Ando H, Sugimoto K, Fujimura A (2005) Angiotensin II receptor blocker-induces blunted taste sensitivity: comparison of candesartan and valsartan. Br J Clin Pharmacol 60:204–207

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Burge J, Schemmel RA, Park HS, Greene J (1984) Taste acuity and zinc status in chronic renal disease. J Am Diet Assoc 84:1203–1209

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Fernstrom A, Hylander B, Rossner S (1996) Taste acuity in patients with chronic renal failure. Clin Nephrol 5:169–174

    Google Scholar 

  22. Middleton RA, Allman-Farinelli MA (1999) Taste sensitivity is altered in patients with chronic renal failure receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. J Nutr 129:122–125

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Burge JC, Park HS, Whitlock CP, Schemmel RA (1979) Taste acuity in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. Kidney Int 15:49–53

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Hurley RS, Hebert LA, Rypien AB (1987) A comparison of taste acuity for salt in renal patients vs. normal subjects. J Am Diet Assoc 87:1531–1534

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Contreras R, Frank M (1979) Sodium deprivation alters neural responses to gustatory stimuli. J Gen Physiol 73:569–574

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Zufall F, Firestein S, Shepherd GM (1994) Cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels and sensory transduction in olfactory sensory neurons. Annu Rev Biophys Biomol Struct 23:577–607

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Gilbertson TA, Damak S, Margolskee RF (2000) The molecular physiology of taste transduction. Curr Opin Neurobiol 10:519–527

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Smith DV, Li CS (2000) GABA-mediated corticofugal inhibition of taste-responsive neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract. Brain Res 858:408–415

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Van der Eijk I, Allman-Farinelli MA (1997) Taste testing in renal patients. J Ren Nutr 7:3–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Raff AC, Lieu S, Melamed ML, Quan Z, Ponda M, Meyer TW, Hostetter TH (2008) Relationship of impaired olfactory function in ESRD to malnutrition and retained uremic molecules. Am J Kidney Dis 52:102–110

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the children who participated in the study for their cooperation, the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation for a grant supporting the research (GK and DGL) and to Professor Elizabeth Hodson for her cooperation and assistance at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead. JEA was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Women and Children’s Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Level 3 Sydney Children’s Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia

    Jessica E. Armstrong & David G. Laing

  2. School of Psychology, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, NSW, 1797, Australia

    Fiona J. Wilkes

  3. Department of Nephrology, Sydney Children’s Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia

    Gad Kainer

Authors
  1. Jessica E. Armstrong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David G. Laing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fiona J. Wilkes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gad Kainer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gad Kainer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Armstrong, J.E., Laing, D.G., Wilkes, F.J. et al. Smell and taste function in children with chronic kidney disease. Pediatr Nephrol 25, 1497–1504 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-010-1529-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-010-1529-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation