ArticlePsychopharmacology2021
Associations between opioid dependence and sweet taste preference.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of opioid blockade on taste perception across smoking status: an analysis of detection thresholds, intensity, and pleasantness.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2025Trial
- Oral Health and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Inpatient Treatment for Heroin-Related Opioid Use Disorder.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Demand for heroin in rats: effects of non-drug alternative substitutes and complements.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Investigating the Relationship Between Opium Addiction and Taste Disorder in Addicts Referred to Exir Salamat Addiction Center.Addiction & health · 2025Article
- Metabolic profiles associated with opioid use and opioid use disorder: a narrative review of the literature.Current addiction reports · 2023Article
- Ketogenic diet: a potential adjunctive treatment for substance use disorders.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
rationalePast research suggests that people with opioid dependence show increased consumption of sweet food, but it is unclear if this is influenced by altered taste preference and/or taste perception.
objectivesWe tested whether people prescribed opioid substitution therapy (OST) exhibited a shift in preference towards sweeter flavours, and altered perception of sweetness, and explored whether these measures of taste preference/perception were associated with measures of opioid use.
methodsThree groups of participants (people prescribed OST, n=36; people with past opioid dependence, but now abstinent from all opioids, n=18; and controls with no history of substance dependence other than nicotine, n=29) provided ratings of "sweetness", "liking", and "desire" of 4 solutions with varying concentrations of sucrose.
resultsWe did not find significant differences between groups in the effect of sucrose concentration on "sweetness", "liking", or "desire" ratings. However, among those prescribed OST, frequency of recent illicit opioid use was associated with reduced perception of "sweetness" of low sucrose concentrations. Higher methadone dose was associated with a shift towards liking sweeter concentrations. Among those with past opioid dependence, longer duration of abstinence from opioids was associated with a shift towards liking sweeter concentrations.
conclusionsAmong people currently dependent on opioids, reduced sensitivity to low levels of sweetness and increased preference for sweeter flavours may be associated with increased dependence on opioids. Among those who have ceased opioid use, the association between preference for sweeter flavours and duration of abstinence is a novel finding that deserves further investigation.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.