Nikolina Jukic Peladic1, Paolo Orlandoni1, Giuseppina Dell'Aquila2, Barbara Carrieri3, Paolo Eusebi4, Francesco Landi5, Stefano Volpato6, Giovanni Zuliani6, Fabrizia Lattanzio7, Antonio Cherubini8. 1. Clinical nutrition, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy. 2. Geriatria, Accettazione geriatrica e Centro di ricerca per l'invecchiamento, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy. 3. Geriatria, Accettazione geriatrica e Centro di ricerca per l'invecchiamento, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy; Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy. 4. Health Planning Service, Regional Health Authority of Umbria, Perugia, Italy. 5. Department of Geriatrics, Neurosciences and Orthopaedics, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. 6. Department of Medical Science, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. 7. Scientific Direction, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy. 8. Geriatria, Accettazione geriatrica e Centro di ricerca per l'invecchiamento, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: a.cherubini@inrca.it.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To define the prevalence of dysphagia and its associated factors and to investigate the influence of dysphagia and nutritional therapies performed in dysphagic subjects on clinical outcomes, including nutritional status, pressure ulcers, hospitalization, and mortality. DESIGN: A prospective observational study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one Italian nursing homes participating in the ULISSE project and 1490 long-stay nursing home residents, older than 65 years, assessed at baseline and reassessed after 6 and 12 months. MEASURES: All participants underwent a standardized comprehensive assessment using the Italian version of the nursing home Minimum Data Set. The activities of daily living Long-Form scale was used to evaluate functional status. Health care professionals assessed dysphagia by means of clinical evaluation. Nutritional status was assessed using the information on weight loss. RESULTS: The prevalence of dysphagia was 12.8%, and 16% of the subjects were treated with artificial nutrition. The mortality rate in subjects with dysphagia was significantly higher compared with that of nondysphagic subjects (27.7% vs 16.8%; P = .0001). The prevalence of weight loss and pressure ulcers was also higher in dysphagic subjects. At variance, dysphagia was not associated with a higher hospitalization risk. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: Dysphagia is common in nursing home residents, and it is associated with higher mortality. Therefore, early diagnosis and optimal management of dysphagia should become a priority issue in nursing homes.
OBJECTIVES: To define the prevalence of dysphagia and its associated factors and to investigate the influence of dysphagia and nutritional therapies performed in dysphagic subjects on clinical outcomes, including nutritional status, pressure ulcers, hospitalization, and mortality. DESIGN: A prospective observational study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one Italian nursing homes participating in the ULISSE project and 1490 long-stay nursing home residents, older than 65 years, assessed at baseline and reassessed after 6 and 12 months. MEASURES: All participants underwent a standardized comprehensive assessment using the Italian version of the nursing home Minimum Data Set. The activities of daily living Long-Form scale was used to evaluate functional status. Health care professionals assessed dysphagia by means of clinical evaluation. Nutritional status was assessed using the information on weight loss. RESULTS: The prevalence of dysphagia was 12.8%, and 16% of the subjects were treated with artificial nutrition. The mortality rate in subjects with dysphagia was significantly higher compared with that of nondysphagic subjects (27.7% vs 16.8%; P = .0001). The prevalence of weight loss and pressure ulcers was also higher in dysphagic subjects. At variance, dysphagia was not associated with a higher hospitalization risk. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: Dysphagia is common in nursing home residents, and it is associated with higher mortality. Therefore, early diagnosis and optimal management of dysphagia should become a priority issue in nursing homes.
Authors: Vittorio Dibello; Frank Lobbezoo; Madia Lozupone; Rodolfo Sardone; Andrea Ballini; Giuseppe Berardino; Anita Mollica; Hélio José Coelho-Júnior; Giovanni De Pergola; Roberta Stallone; Antonio Dibello; Antonio Daniele; Massimo Petruzzi; Filippo Santarcangelo; Vincenzo Solfrizzi; Daniele Manfredini; Francesco Panza Journal: Geroscience Date: 2022-10-15 Impact factor: 7.581