The Influence of Changed Life Environment on Swallowing and Respiration in Healthy Elderly: A Comparison of Disaster Victim and Non-Victim Elderly Individuals

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to clarify problems that the swallowing and respiratory functions of victim elderly individuals in Fukushima. Participants were healthy elderly individuals, who were living in Fukushima or Nagasaki in Japan. The subjects in the Fukushima group were 50 elderly individuals, and the subjects in the Nagasaki group were 19 elderly individuals. The swallowing and respiratory functions were compared between the 2 groups and the 5 groups (4 areas in the Fukushima group and 1 area in the Nagasaki group). The swallowing and respiratory functions were significantly lower in the Fukushima group than in the Nagasaki group. We conclude that it is important to include social environment in the assessment of and intervention for respiratory and swallowing problems in victims of disaster.