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Relationship between bitter-taste receptor genotype and solid medication formulation usage among young children: a retrospective analysis.

ABSTRACT: Children often refuse to take medication in liquid formulation because of its unpleasant taste. Recent advances in taste genetics have provided some insight into individual differences in taste among children: due to their genotype, some prefer more intense sweetness and are more sensitive to bitter tastes and thus may have different needs for medication formulation.The aims of this study were to: (1) test the a priori hypothesis that children with the bitter-sensitive genotypes are more likely to have experienced solid medication formulations than those with the bitter-insensitive genotype; and (2) conduct post hoc analyses to examine the relationship between genotype and most preferred level of sucrose in water because sweeteners are a common component of liquid formulations.The following data were obtained from healthy, 3- to 10-year-old children who participated in 1 of 5 taste-research studies: taste genotype for alleles of the bitter-taste receptor TAS2R38; data from retrospective reports of solid medication formulation usage and favorite beverage; and most preferred level of sucrose in water, as determined psychophysically.Data from 448 children were included (245 girls, 203 boys; mean age, 7.8 years). Children with ?1 bitter-sensitive allele (TAS2R38 PP or AP genotype) were more likely to have taken medication in solid formulation than were bitter-insensitive (AA genotype) children. Children with the PP genotype preferred higher concentrations of sucrose in water, and their favorite beverage contained more grams of sugar compared with children with the AA genotype.Taste genotype was associated with experience with solid medication formulations and preference for more intense sweetness. This finding suggests that taste genetics might be an important factor in formulation choice and compliance in the pediatric population.

SUBMITTER: Lipchock SV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3341939 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Relationship between bitter-taste receptor genotype and solid medication formulation usage among young children: a retrospective analysis.

Lipchock Sarah V SV Reed Danielle R DR Mennella Julie A JA

Clinical therapeutics 20120301 3

<h4>Background</h4>Children often refuse to take medication in liquid formulation because of its unpleasant taste. Recent advances in taste genetics have provided some insight into individual differences in taste among children: due to their genotype, some prefer more intense sweetness and are more sensitive to bitter tastes and thus may have different needs for medication formulation.<h4>Objective</h4>The aims of this study were to: (1) test the a priori hypothesis that children with the bitter ...[more]

PMID: 22440514

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Project description:Little research has focused on whether there are individual differences among children in their sensitivity to sweet taste and, if so, the biological correlates of such differences.Our goal was to understand how variations in children's sucrose detection thresholds relate to their age and gender, taste genotype, body composition, and dietary intake of added sugars.Sucrose detection thresholds in 7- to 14-year-old children were tested individually using a validated, two-alternative, forced-choice, paired-comparison tracking method. Five genetic variants of taste genes were assayed: TAS1R3 and GNAT3 (sweet genes; one variant each) and the bitter receptor gene TAS2R38 (three variants). All children were measured for body weight and height. A subset of these children were measured for the percentage of body fat and waist circumference and provided added sugar intake by 24-hour dietary recall.Sucrose thresholds ranged from 0.23 to 153.8 mM with most of the children completing the threshold task (216/235; 92%). Some children were biologically related (i.e., siblings), and for the genetic analysis, one sibling from each family was studied. Variants in the bitter but not the sweet genes were related to sucrose threshold and sugar intake; children with two bitter-sensitive alleles could detect sucrose at lower concentrations (F(2,165) = 4.55, p = .01; rs1726866) and reported eating more added sugar (% kcal; F(2, 62) = 3.64, p = .03) than did children with less sensitive alleles. Age, gender, and indices of obesity also were related to child-to-child differences in sucrose threshold; girls were more sensitive than boys (t(214) = 2.0, p = .05), older children were more sensitive than younger children (r(214) = -.16, p = .02), and fatter (r(84) = -.22, p = .05) or more centrally obese children (r(84) = -.26, p = .02) were more sensitive relative to others.Inborn differences in bitter sensitivity may affect childhood dietary sugar intake with long-term health consequences. There may be a more complex interplay between the developing bitter and sweet taste systems than previously understood.

Dataset Information

Relationship between bitter-taste receptor genotype and solid medication formulation usage among young children: a retrospective analysis.

Publications

Relationship between bitter-taste receptor genotype and solid medication formulation usage among young children: a retrospective analysis.

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