2010 Volume 14 Issue 1 Pages 3-10
[Purpose] The aim of this study was to clarify a possible relationship between dysphagia and the time use of in-home aged persons.
[Subjects] Thirty-nine aged persons who utilized home-visit rehabilitation were recruited for this study (mean age: 80.7±7.5 yrs, 18 males and 21 females).
[Methods] Evaluation of their feeding status (① Eating status, ② Food shape, ③ Presence or absence of choking, ④ Mealtime, ⑤ History of pneumonia), feeding/swallowing function test (⑥ RSST, ⑦ WST), and ADL assessment using the Barthel index were performed to determine the proportion of time in a sitting posture for mealtimes to the total daily times in lying and sitting postures as an index of time use. The subjects were divided into two groups for comparison of the individual items mentioned above, that is, a group comprising subjects with an established diagnosis of dysphagia, “Dysphagia group,”and another group of those with other diseases, “Non-dysphagia group.”
[Results] When comparing the feeding status and swallowing function, a significant difference was observed in the eating status, food shape, history of pneumonia, mealtime, presence or absence of choking, water-drinking test and the Barthel index. Furthermore, a significant difference was also observed in the total lying and sitting times as an index of time use.
[Discussion] Because potential factors that possibly affect the swallowing function in aged persons vary widely, it is thus necessary to take systemic causes into consideration simultaneously. Furthermore, it is also required to grasp adequately their lying status rather than the feeding status because of the reported high incidence of silent aspiration at night in aged persons. Since the total lying time implies the sum of lying time per day, it thus seemed important to control this time. From the results of this study, it was suggested that not only an ADL assessment but also an evaluation of time use is important in aged persons with dysphagia.
