The duration of stage transition during pharyngeal swallowing among young-elderly, and mid-elderly individuals

Abstract

[Purpose] Understanding the normal movements of the pharyngeal stage is important in the assessment of dysphagia. This study classified an elderly population into young-elderly and mid-elderly individuals and investigated the difference in stage transition duration between the two groups to provide basic material for assessment of dysphagia in old age. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects of the study were 12 middle-aged individuals (40–49 years), young-elderly individuals (65–74 years), and 9 mid-elderly individuals (75–84 years). Stage transition duration was defined as the time from the moment food boluses passed the ramus of the mandible until the start of upward movement of the hyoid. All image data were measured using a videofluoroscopic study. Difference in measured values for stage transition duration between the groups were confirmed with one-way analysis of variance. [Results] Although analysis of variance was significantly longer in the young-elderly and mid-elderly individuals than in the middle-aged individuals, there was no significant difference in stage transition duration between the young-elderly and mid-elderly individuals. [Conclusion] In this study, there was no significant difference between the young-elderly and mid-elderly individuals in the movement speed of muscles related to pharyngeal swallowing.

Development of an Ultrasonic Doppler Sensor-Based Swallowing Monitoring and Assessment System

“…Dysphagia, a disturbance in transferring solid or liquid food from the mouth to the stomach [ 2 , 3 ], occurs in neurologic patients and the elderly [ 4 , 5 ]. Note that laryngeal closure and vocal fold closure occur involuntarily during pharyngeal swallowing to prevent food from entering the airways [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Examples of dysphagia prevalence statistics include 16.1% of adults aged 18 years or above (2353 males and 2645 females; mean age = 46.5 ± 15.7 years) in the USA [ 10 ], 35.3% of frail elderly people (29 males and 56 females; age = 80.8 ± 7.6 years) in Japan [ 4 ], 27.2% of older adults aged 70 years or above (136 males and 118 females; age = 78.2 ± 5.6 years) in Spain [ 11 ], and 23.6% of older adults aged 65 years or above (195 males and 220 females; age = 76.5 ± 8.6 years) in the Republic of Korea [ 12 ].…”