Low tongue strength is associated with oral and cough-related abnormalities in older inpatients

Sarcopenic dysphagia is partly characterized by a decline in the strength of the swallowing muscles. However, its associated characteristics and symptoms are unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics and symptoms of swallowing ability associated with low tongue muscle strength, which is one of the swallowing muscles in older adults.

This was a cross-sectional study of 197 older patients admitted to the hospital for orthopedic conditions. We measured the maximum tongue pressure (MTP) against the palate. Swallowing-related characteristics were assessed with the Mann assessment of swallowing ability. Sarcopenia was diagnosed using the 2019 Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia.

The mean age of patients was 81.3 ± 7.6 y, and 80.2% of patients were women. Forty-two patients (21.3%) showed low MTP, defined as <20 kPa. Approximately 50% of participants had sarcopenia. Patients in the low MTP group had a significantly higher incidence of sarcopenia compared with the normal MTP group (71.4% vs. 48.4%; P = .008). After adjusting for potential confounders in the multivariate analyses, low MTP was found to be independently associated with abnormalities in tongue coordination (odds ratio [OR]: 5.251; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.336-11.807; P < .001), oral transit (OR: 5.248; 95% CI, 1.424-19.345; P = .013), cough reflex (OR: 2.709; 95% CI, 1.280-5.733; P = .009), and voluntary cough (OR: 7.786; 95% CI, 3.329-18.208; P < .001).

Patients with low tongue strength are characterized by abnormal oral and cough-related characteristics.