Prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in the Netherlands: a telephone survey

Recent and specific data on the prevalence and/or incidence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in the general population are scarce. This study focuses on obtaining this data by means of a literature review and telephone survey. A literature review was performed to obtain data on the prevalence of dysphagia in the general population. Secondly, a quasi-random telephone survey using the functional health status questionnaire EAT-10 was conducted with the aim of establishing prevalence data on oropharyngeal dysphagia in the Netherlands. The literature review revealed six articles which met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence data on oropharyngeal dysphagia in the general population varied between 2.3 and 16 %. For the telephone survey, a total of 6,700 individuals were contacted by telephone, of which, 2,600 (39 %) participated in the study. Of the 2,600 participants, as many as 315 (12.1 %) were identified as having swallowing abnormalities and showed increased risk of oropharyngeal dysphagia with age. Prevalence data on oropharyngeal dysphagia in the Dutch general population were as high as 12.1 %. This data are in line with the retrieved prevalence data from the literature.