OBJECTIVES: To determine whether symptoms and clinical signs of swallowing dysfunction could be easily identified in community-dwelling elderly adults and to examine the association between self-report and direct observation of symptoms and signs of swallowing dysfunction. DESIGN: Physiological substudy conducted as a home visit within an observational cohort study. SETTING: Baltimore City and County, Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling elderly women without history of dysphagia or neurological disease aged 85 to 94 enrolled in the Women's Health and Aging Study II (N = 47). MEASUREMENTS: Three trials of the 3-ounce water swallowing test, swallowing function questionnaire, and frailty status. RESULTS: Thirty-four (72%) subjects demonstrated swallowing dysfunction in at least one swallowing trial and 16 (34%) in all three trials. The most common signs of dysfunction were throat clear and wet voice. Conversely, participants reported few symptoms of dysphagia on a swallowing function questionnaire. The most common symptom, reported by approximately 15% of participants, was the sensation of the food going "down the wrong way," 8.5% or fewer participants reported other symptoms. CONCLUSION: Signs of swallowing dysfunction were present in a large majority of community-dwelling old-old women, but they were largely unrecognized and reported. Formal evaluation of swallowing function in community-dwelling elderly adults is necessary to determine the clinical consequences of these findings.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether symptoms and clinical signs of swallowing dysfunction could be easily identified in community-dwelling elderly adults and to examine the association between self-report and direct observation of symptoms and signs of swallowing dysfunction. DESIGN: Physiological substudy conducted as a home visit within an observational cohort study. SETTING: Baltimore City and County, Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling elderly women without history of dysphagia or neurological disease aged 85 to 94 enrolled in the Women's Health and Aging Study II (N = 47). MEASUREMENTS: Three trials of the 3-ounce water swallowing test, swallowing function questionnaire, and frailty status. RESULTS: Thirty-four (72%) subjects demonstrated swallowing dysfunction in at least one swallowing trial and 16 (34%) in all three trials. The most common signs of dysfunction were throat clear and wet voice. Conversely, participants reported few symptoms of dysphagia on a swallowing function questionnaire. The most common symptom, reported by approximately 15% of participants, was the sensation of the food going "down the wrong way," 8.5% or fewer participants reported other symptoms. CONCLUSION: Signs of swallowing dysfunction were present in a large majority of community-dwelling old-old women, but they were largely unrecognized and reported. Formal evaluation of swallowing function in community-dwelling elderly adults is necessary to determine the clinical consequences of these findings.
Authors: Susan G Butler; Andrew Stuart; Xiaoyan Leng; Erika Wilhelm; Catherine Rees; Jeff Williamson; Stephen B Kritchevsky Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2011-02-07 Impact factor: 6.053
Authors: L J Silveira Guijarro; V Domingo García; N Montero Fernández; C Ma Osuna del Pozo; L Álvarez Nebreda; J A Serra-Rexach Journal: Nutr Hosp Date: 2011 May-Jun Impact factor: 1.057
Authors: A Kurosu; F Osman; S Daggett; R Peña-Chávez; A Thompson; S M Myers; P VanKampen; S S Koenig; M Ciucci; J Mahoney; N Rogus-Pulia Journal: J Nutr Health Aging Date: 2021 Impact factor: 4.075