[Relationship between the swallowing function, nutritional status, and sarcopenia in elderly outpatients]

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nutrition Science
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Sarcopenia prevention is crucial for community-dwelling elderly adults.
• Oral function decline, including chewing, increases dysphagia risk in older populations.
• Understanding the interplay between swallowing, nutrition, and physical function is vital.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between swallowing function, nutritional status, and physical function in elderly outpatients.
• To identify predictors of impaired swallowing in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• 90 elderly outpatients (mean age 77.2 years) were assessed.
• Evaluations included dysphagia screening, masticatory ability, tongue pressure, grip strength, skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), Sarcopenia Screening Questionnaire (SARC-F), and Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF).
• Logistic regression analysis determined odds ratios for swallowing function and related factors.

Main Results:

• 83.3% of participants were at risk for dysphagia.
• Difficulty eating hard foods, slower eating, and coughing during meals were common symptoms.
• The 20 masticable foods questionnaire, SARC-F, and MNA-SF correlated with dysphagia screening results.
• SARC-F significantly predicted reduced swallowing function.

Conclusions:

• Elderly outpatients with decreased oral function face elevated dysphagia risk.
• Swallowing function is associated with chewing ability, nutritional status, and sarcopenia.
• Monitoring swallowing function can facilitate early sarcopenia detection and dysphagia prevention in elderly outpatients.