Dysphagia and dementia: a 'double dilemma'

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Neurology
• Clinical Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) are age-related conditions often co-occurring.
• Untreated dysphagia in individuals with dementia can lead to severe health consequences and reduced quality of life.
• Current understanding and management of dysphagia in dementia patients present significant challenges.

Approach:

• This review discusses the difficulties in managing dysphagia among individuals with dementia.
• It highlights the need for improved diagnostic tools and prevalence data for dysphagia across dementia types and stages.
• The review also explores promising avenues for future research and existing applications for better management.

Key Points:

• There are delays in identifying dysphagia in individuals with dementia.
• A lack of comprehensive prevalence data for dysphagia in various dementia types, stages, and settings exists.
• Novel diagnostic tools and innovative applications of existing technologies are required.

Conclusions:

• Existing knowledge of dysphagia in dementia is limited, revealing complexities and shortcomings.
• There is potential in current applications to improve dysphagia management in dementia patients.
• Further research is essential to deepen our understanding of these comorbidities and inform clinical practice.