Tongue pressure is associated with aging, sex, handgrip strength, and lean body mass in community-dwelling middle- and old-aged people: a cross sectional study

Abstract

　The relationship between tongue pressure and relevant factors including cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related factors in community-dwelling middle- and old-aged people is still controversial. To clarify the relationship between tongue pressure and relevant factors including CVD-related factors in community-dwelling middle- and old-aged people. We included 638 Japanese community-dwelling adults (241 men and 397 women) who participated in the screening program and agreed to participate in this study. We measured the tongue pressure using a JMS tongue pressure measuring instrument^® with a disposal oral balloon probe, and we conducted multivariate linear regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between tongue pressure and other existing parameters adjusted for CVD-related confounding factors. We showed that tongue pressure was significantly correlated with age (β = −0.114), sex (β = 6.374, Men=2, Women=1), lean body mass (β = 0.278), and log grip strength (β = 22.438). Our study showed that these parameters were all independent explanatory valuables for tongue pressure in community-dwelling middle- and old-aged people. Age, sex, grip strength, and lean body mass were all independent explanatory valuables for tongue pressure in community-dwelling middle- and old-aged people.