Individual taste sensitivity influences food preferences, nutritional control, and health, and differs greatly between individuals. The purpose of this study was to establish a method of measuring and quantifying an individual’s taste sensitivity and to evaluate the relationship between taste variation and genetic polymorphisms in humans using agonist specificities of the bitter taste receptor gene, TAS2R38, with the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). We precisely detected the threshold of PROP bitter perception by conducting the modified two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) procedure with the Bayesian staircase procedure of the QUEST method and examined genetic variation in TAS2R38 in a Japanese population. There were significant differences in PROP threshold between the three TAS2R38 genotype pairs for 79 subjects: PAV/PAV vs AVI/AVI, p < 0.001; PAV/AVI vs AVI/AVI, p < 0.001; and PAV/PAV vs PAV/AVI, p < 0.01. Our results quantified individual bitter perception as QUEST threshold values: the PROP bitter perception of individuals with the PAV/PAV or PAV/AVI genotypes was tens to fifty times more sensitive than that of an individual with the AVI/AVI genotype. Our analyses provide a basic model for the accurate estimation of taste thresholds using the modified 2AFC with the QUEST approach.

Background/Objectives: The semi-solid enteral nutrition method, in which semi-solid nutrients are administered through a gastrostoma rather than liquid nutrients, is a medical technology for nutritional management developed in Japan. This nutritional method has spread rapidly, and in 2018, the Home Semi-solid Enteral Nutrition Guidance and Management fee was newly established in the payment system for medical services. However, there are few studies evaluating this nutrition method in actual clinical practice. Methods: Using the DeSC medical claims database, we investigated patient characteristics, the number of fee calculations, and the length of hospital stay for all hospitalizations and for pneumonia during and after fee calculation. Results: Home semi-solid enteral nutrition guidance and management was received at least once by 3105 patients (mean age: 79.4 years). Cerebrovascular disease, nervous system disease, dementia, and pneumonia were the most common diseases at the start of guidance and management, and the mean number of sessions received was 7.7. The mean length of stay for any hospitalization was significantly shorter during the guidance and management period than after the last guidance and management session (8.2 vs. 29.1 days). Notably, the mean length of hospital stay for pneumonia was also significantly shorter during the guidance and management period than after the last guidance and management session (3.1 vs. 10.2 days). Conclusions: This study clarified the calculation status of the Home Semi-solid Enteral Nutrition Guidance and Management fee and outcomes of patients who received this guidance and management. These findings suggest that the provision of this guidance and management may be associated with the shorter length of hospital stay. However, because residual confounding cannot be ruled out, a causal relationship cannot be established. Overall, the provision of this guidance and management may be associated with maintaining stable home care.

Background/Objectives: The semi-solid enteral nutrition method, in which semi-solid nutrients are administered through a gastrostoma rather than liquid nutrients, is a medical technology for nutritional management developed in Japan. This nutritional method has spread rapidly, and in 2018, the Home Semi-solid Enteral Nutrition Guidance and Management fee was newly established in the payment system for medical services. However, there are few studies evaluating this nutrition method in actual clinical practice. Methods: Using the DeSC medical claims database, we investigated patient characteristics, the number of fee calculations, and the length of hospital stay for all hospitalizations and for pneumonia during and after fee calculation. Results: Home semi-solid enteral nutrition guidance and management was received at least once by 3105 patients (mean age: 79.4 years). Cerebrovascular disease, nervous system disease, dementia, and pneumonia were the most common diseases at the start of guidance and management, and the mean number of sessions received was 7.7. The mean length of stay for any hospitalization was significantly shorter during the guidance and management period than after the last guidance and management session (8.2 vs. 29.1 days). Notably, the mean length of hospital stay for pneumonia was also significantly shorter during the guidance and management period than after the last guidance and management session (3.1 vs. 10.2 days). Conclusions: This study clarified the clinical status and outcomes of patients who received Home Semi-solid Enteral Nutrition Guidance and Management. The results suggested that application of the semi-solid enteral nutrition method can contribute to stable patient home care.