ObjectiveTo investigate which domains of frailty are associated with dysphagia in community‐dwelling elderly persons.BackgroundDysphagia is a common cause of aspiration pneumonia in frail elderly persons in Japan. Although frailty is considered to be multidimensional, it is unclear which domains of frailty affect dysphagia.MethodsThe participants were 3475 independent Japanese elderly persons (≥65 years; 1555 men and 1920 women). A self‐report questionnaire with a frailty checklist consisting of several domains (lifestyle, physical function, nutrition, oral function, homebound status, cognitive function and depressive mood) was used to determine the participants’ characteristics. Dysphagia was defined as impaired swallowing in the oral function domain. To determine the associations between dysphagia and age, sex and the other domains on the frailty checklist, adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using multiple logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe multiple logistic regression analysis showed that dysphagia was independently associated with female sex (AOR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.08‐1.68), chewing ability (AOR = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.32‐2.18), oral dryness (AOR = 1.94; 95% CI = 1.48‐2.54), physical function (AOR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.66‐2.90), cognitive function (AOR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.34‐2.12) and depressive mood (AOR = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.41‐2.35).ConclusionDysphagia was independently associated with oral, physical, cognitive and psychological frailty. These results suggest that frailty prevention strategy including swallowing training might be useful for community‐dwelling independent elderly persons aged ≥65 years.

Malnutrition is a core symptom of the frailty cycle in older adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether dysphagia influences nutrition or frailty status in community-dwelling older adults. The study participants were 320 Japanese community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years. All participants completed a questionnaire survey that included items on age, sex, family structure, self-rated health, nutritional and frailty status, and swallowing function. Nutritional status was categorized as malnourished, at risk of malnutrition, and well-nourished based on the Mini Nutrition Assessment-Short Form. The participants were then classified into a malnutrition (malnourished/at risk) or a well-nourished group (well-nourished). Frailty was assessed using the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria. The participants were then divided into a frailty (frail/pre-frail) or a non-frailty group (robust). Dysphagia was screened using the 10-item Eating Assessment Tool. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine whether dysphagia was associated with nutritional or frailty status. The results revealed that dysphagia influenced both nutrition (odds ratio [OR]: 4.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9–8.2) and frailty status (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.0–5.2); therefore, the swallowing function would be an important factor for community-dwelling older adults on frailty prevention programs.

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