2014 Volume 18 Issue 2 Pages 123-130
Purpose: The duration of activity in the swallowing muscles during swallowing increases with age. However, it is uncertain whether this increase is due to a decline of swallowing function in normal elderly people. In the present study, subjects were grouped into three or two by responses to the questions of the Seirei Questionnaire on Swallowing related to pharyngeal and/or oral functions. Then, the relation between the duration of suprahyoid muscle activity during swallowing and these groups was examined.
Methods: The subjects were 83 people ranging from 23 to 86 years old (36 men, 47 women). Water boluses of 3 ml and 10 ml were used for single water swallowing (SWS), and the duration of sEMG activity during SWS was measured.
Results: The duration of the half maximum (half width, HW) during the 3 and 10 ml SWS was 0.62± 0.22 s (mean±SD, n＝78) and 0.57±0.24 s (n＝80). There was a weak correlation between HW and age (3 ml SWS: r＝0.330, p＝0.003, n＝78; 10 ml SWS: r＝0.238, p＝0.034, n＝80). In three groups, ‘responding A to any item’, ‘responding not A but B’, and ‘responding only C’ to nine items related to oral and pharyngeal functions, HW during the 3 ml SWS was 0.83±0.30 s (n＝6), 0.61±0.19 s (n＝23), 0.60±0.21 s (n＝49), respectively. As for 10 ml SWS, HW was 0.75±0.34 s (n＝7), 0.57±0.20 s (n＝24) and 0.55± 0.23 s (n＝49). The UNIANOVA test with age as a covariate did not show a significant difference between the groups. Similarly, between the groups ‘responding A or B to any item’ and ‘responding only C’ to 5 items related to pharyngeal functions, there was no significant difference.
Conclusion: Although HW of the suprahyoid muscle activity during swallowing increases with age, this does not represent a decline of swallowing function.
