Deems RO, et al. - Chemosensory function, food preferences, and appetite were evaluated in patients with liver disease including those with hepatitis, cirrhosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and sclerosing cholangitis. The authors identified that groups of patients with different types of liver pathology demonstrated varying patterns of food preferences. Therefore, it was suggested that dietary recommendations to liver patients could be tailored to the altered preferences associated with a particular type of hepatic dysfunction.

• During this study, 88 patients with liver disease including those with hepatitis, cirrhosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and sclerosing cholangitis were assessed, in terms of chemosensory function, food preferences, and appetite.

• In the patients with liver disease, reported chemosensory disturbances were common: over 40% reported recent taste changes, and 27% reported recent changes in smell, compared to only 6% of healthy, age- and gender-matched controls with no history of marked chemosensory malfunction.
• A greater proportion of liver patients reported food cravings (47 vs. 17%) and food aversions (33 vs. 16%) compared to controls.
• In patients with liver disease, foods with a predominantly bitter taste were specifically less preferred compared to healthy controls.
• Furthermore, patients were more likely to report poor to fair appetite than controls (37 vs. 5%).