Aging‐related changes in swallowing, and in the coordination of swallowing and respiration determined by novel non‐invasive measurement techniques

Abstract

Aim:Previous studies have shown that the process of swallowing changes with aging, a phenomenon known as presbyphagia. These subtle and subclinical age-related changes make older adults more vulnerable to dysphagia during disease insults. However, there are limited studies of the swallowing process in older adults, because measurements are typically invasive or require exposure to X-rays. In the present study, we used integrated noninvasive measurements to determine aging-related changes of swallowing, and in the coordination of swallowing and respiration for a population of healthy participants. Methods:The non-invasive system provided measurements of larynx movement with piezoelectric sensors, submental muscle activity with surface electromyography and respiration-swallowing coordination by measurement of nasal airflow. We recruited 112 healthy participants from the community, 35 in a young-age group (age 20-30 years), 38 in a middle-age group (age 31-50 years) and 39 in an old-age group (age 51-70 years). Results:The oropharyngeal swallowing parameters of the old-age group had delayed onset latency and longer swallowing apnea duration relative to the other groups, and these differences were greater for larger boluses. The middle-and old-age groups had less expiratory-expiratory respiratory phase pattern than the young-age group. The probability of piecemeal deglutition was highest in the old-age group and lowest in the young-age group. These results show that the phases of oropharyngeal swallowing and the coordination of swallowing with respiration gradually change with aging. Conclusions:We used integrated non-invasive measurements to document age-related changes in swallowing, and in the coordination of swallowing and respiration in healthy adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; 15: 736-744.

Integrated non‐invasive measurements reveal swallowing and respiration coordination recovery after unilateral stroke

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Antipsychotic (Non)selectivity: A Setup for Swallowing and Side‐Effects in Seriously Ill Elderly Adults

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Swallow and breathing coordination following suprahyoid muscle injury.

“…The use of these devices would have provided further objective confirmation of respiratory activity, as activation of the diaphragm is also associated with activities other than eupneic respirations (e.g., hiccups, schluckatmung, and cough). Airflow measures also allow for duration measurements of obligate pauses in respiration during swallowing, referred to clinically as apnea or 37 respiratory pauses (Martin-Harris et al, 2005;Martin-Harris et al, 2003;Wang et al, 2015). Multiple studies have used plethysmography and/or airflow directional readings in combination with videofluoroscopic recordings to determine swallow-breathing patterns (Martin-Harris et al, 2005;Martin-Harris et al, 2003), permitting direct visual confirmation of swallowing versus indirect confirmation via EMG data.…”

“…(Martin-Harris et al, 2003). Plethysmography and/or airflow measures have also been used with surface submental EMGs to determine swallowbreathing coordination patterns (McFarland et al, 2016;Terzi et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2015).…”