Factors Contributing to Declining Swallowing Function in Older Adults and the Effectiveness of Self-Care Using...

Aspiration, especially silent aspiration associated with dysphagia, is a major cause of pneumonia. This is a disease that commonly occurs in the elderly, but the characteristics of the elderly who currently have no subjective swallowing problems are unclear. This study aims to identify factors contributing to declining swallowing function in elderly individuals and assess the effectiveness of non-invasive press needles as a self-care intervention.

Our study is a prospective study. Twenty-seven individuals aged 65 years or over and without cause dysphagia were enrolled at the Tsukuba University of Technology, Japan. Twenty-eight individuals from 20 to 64 years of age were included in the younger age group. The amount of oral water content and tongue pressure were measured for all participants, and the repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST) was performed using a Swallowscope. For individuals with reduced RSST swallowing function, non-invasive press needles were applied bilaterally to ST36 and KI3 acupuncture points and reassessed after one week.

The average tongue pressure was significantly lower in the older adult group. In RSST, declining swallowing functions were observed in seven participants in the older adult group and four in the younger age group. With self-care interventions using press needles, average RSSTs significantly improved in the older adult group from 1.4±0.8 to 2.9±1.3 (p<0.05). In four participants with declining swallowing ability in the younger age group, the swallowing frequency remained less than three after the intervention.

The swallowing function potentially declines in older adults. Non-invasive press needles can be utilized to prevent dysphagia as a self-care.