2019 Volume 23 Issue 3 Pages 180-188
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify by questionnaire the actual oral function of healthy elderly people and the relationship between the swallowing function, the symptoms of the oral/pharyngeal phase during eating and devising food modifications.
Methods: The subjects were 104 home-based elderly people aged 65 and over, except those requiring care, who could answer questions.
Firstly, we measured the oral function [oral moisture degree, oral diadochokinesis (hereinafter, this is called "ODK"), tongue pressure, chewing ability] and investigated the relationships between the oral function and survey items. Survey items are the swallowing function by the Seirei Swallowing Questionnaire, symptoms of oral/pharyngeal phase during eating (Questions 3 to 11 of the Seirei Questionnaire), food forms that are difficult to eat, devising food modifications.
Results: ODK / pa // ta //ka /・Tongue pressure and chewing function were correlated with age, ODK / pa// ta // ka / were correlated with each other, tongue pressure was correlated with ODK/ ta // ka/.
As for the group with dysphagia, ODK / ta / showed a significantly lower value than the group with suspected dysphagia or the normal group.
As for the symptoms of oral / pharyngeal phase, ODK / ta / were associated with the group that became slow to eat, tongue pressure was associated with the group that has coughing fits during meals, and chewing ability was associated with the group that had difficulty eating hard foods.
As for foods which became hard to eat and devising food modifications, ODK / pa // ka / were associated with the group that had difficulty eating hard food, ODK / ka / were associated with foods which easily stuck to throats, ODK / pa // ka / were associated with the group that devised soft foods.
Conclusion: In healthy elderly people over 65 years of age, ODK / pa // ta // ka /・tongue pressure and chewing function were correlated with age. The oral function had a lower value the older the people got. In addition, the group with symptoms in the oral/pharyngeal phase and the group devising food modification were significantly lower values than the group that did not.
