Age and sex differences in sarcopenic dysphagia: A secondary data analysis

Age and sex differences in sarcopenic dysphagia are unknown. The purpose is to characterize age and sex differences in sarcopenic dysphagia.

A cross-sectional and retrospective cohort study using information from the Japanese database on sarcopenic dysphagia was performed. We investigated age and sex differences between sarcopenic dysphagia and other forms of dysphagia. We investigated whether differences in prognosis for swallowing function, as assessed by the Food Intake Level Scale, and activities of daily living (ADL), as assessed by the Barthel Index were influenced by age and sex in patients with sarcopenic dysphagia.

The study included 460 patients, including 229 men and 231 women, with a mean age of 81 ± 10 years. Fifty-eight percent of the patients had sarcopenic dysphagia. Age was independently associated with sarcopenic dysphagia (odds ratio (OR): 1.056, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.035, 1.078), although sarcopenic dysphagia could also be seen in those younger than 65 years. Sex was not independently associated with sarcopenic dysphagia. The age cut-off for the diagnosis of sarcopenic dysphagia was 82 years in all patients (sensitivity, 0.660; specificity, 0.644), 80 years in men (sensitivity, 0.619; specificity, 0.631), and 83 years in women (sensitivity, 0.723; specificity, 0.577). Sarcopenic dysphagia showed no significant differences in the improvement of swallowing function and ADL based on age and sex.

Sarcopenic dysphagia was most common in older adults in their 80s or older. The possibility of sarcopenic dysphagia should be considered when dysphagia is present in people 80 years of age or older.