TasTY: Development and evaluation of a taste test for quantifying taste sensitivity among preschool children-test-retest reliability, application, and comparison between children with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Abstract

Taste dysfunction gained attention during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; however, validated objective tests for preschool children remain limited. We aimed to develop a feasible, reliable test quantifying taste sensitivity among children aged 3-6 years and to compare performance between children with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. We included 68 symptom-free children (median age 5.1 years; interquartile range (IQR) 3.9-5.9): 36 without known SARS-CoV-2 infection (control group, CG) and 32 with confirmed prior infection (SARS-CoV-2 infection group, C19-G), tested 79 days after infection (median; IQR 56-112). Children completed a self-developed Taste Test for Young Children (TasTY), a double-blind, playful two-alternative forced-choice test with 10 samples in randomized order (sweet, sour, and salty at three concentrations each; water served as a control). Twenty controls were retested a median of 62 days later (IQR 38-64). Outcomes were total score (0-10), feasibility, task comprehension, and test-retest reliability, assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), and smallest real difference (SRD). Feasibility was high (3% dropout), and 89.4% correctly classified water. Total score test-retest reliability was good (ICC = 0.73; pooled SEM = 0.76; SRD = 2.11). Total scores were similar between CG and C19-G (8.37 ± 1.5 vs. 8.19 ± 1.5; p = 0.63). Descriptively, three-year-olds (n = 17) had lower, more variable scores.

Conclusion: TasTY provides an age-appropriate, reliable, objective method for quantifying taste sensitivity among preschoolers, supporting standardized group comparisons and longitudinal assessment.

What is known: • COVID-19 increased awareness of taste dysfunction; however, evidence among young children relies mainly on surveys and parental reports. • Objective taste tests for preschool children remain limited.

What is new: • TasTY is a feasible, standardized, and objective test for quantifying taste sensitivity among children aged 3-6 years and goes beyond parental and subjective reports. • Its standardized 0-10 score showed good test-retest reliability and may support group comparisons and longitudinal assessment of preschool children with taste-related conditions.