Inspiratory Muscle Strength Is an Independent Predictor of Maximum Tongue Pressure in Patients Aged ≥65 Years With...

There are limited numbers of studies of the relationship between maximum tongue pressure (MTP) and respiratory muscle strength in older patients with acute heart failure (AHF).

Patients aged ≥65 years hospitalized with AHF were analyzed. MTP, maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (PI_max), and maximal expiratory mouth pressure (PE_max), which serve as indicators of swallowing, inspiratory, and expiratory muscle strength, respectively, were measured. The prevalence of sarcopenic dysphagia and respiratory sarcopenia was also assessed. The effect of respiratory muscle strength on MTP was evaluated using linear regression models, with MTP at the commencement of rehabilitation (baseline) or hospital discharge as the dependent variable and respiratory muscle strength measured at the baseline as the independent variable across four models. A total of 168 patients (median age: 85 years) were included in the final analysis. Sarcopenic dysphagia was observed in 16.7% of patients at baseline and 11.3% at hospital discharge (P=0.067). The prevalence of respiratory sarcopenia significantly increased from 59.7% at baseline to 70.7% at hospital discharge (P=0.018). MTP at hospital discharge was significantly associated with PI_max at baseline (β=0.335); MTP at baseline was significantly associated with PI_max at baseline (β=0.309).

PI_max was independently associated with MTP in older patients with AHF and may indicate a need for more intensive physical therapy interventions.