TASTE PERCEPTION AMONG PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA

Abstract

Iron defici ency anemia is the most common nutritional disorder m the world according to the WHO, and it affects more than 3.5 billion people in the developing world.

Iron is a key element in the metabolism of almost all livi ng organisms. In humans, iron is an essential component of hundreds of proteins and enzymes. Iron is important for taste perception at the cellular level as ferrous ions were found to be involved in the signal transduction of taste perception , at the same time iron containing enzymes are involved in various important functions as cellular energy and respiration, electron transport, ATP and neurotransmitter synthesis.

Association between iron deficiency and atrophy of tongue coating have been reported by many authors. Not only that, but in some reports the complications of iron deficiency anemia included atrophy of the taste buds themselves. Consequently, the present investigation was carried out to detect any correlation between iron deficiency anemia and variatiqn in taste perception .

The study was performed on a total of 60 individ uals that were divided into two groups; healthy control group and patients group suffering from IDA .Each group consisted of 26 females and only 4 males. Patients and healthy controls received a clinical examination in