Abstract
Articulation and swallowing are functions that are mutually associated. However, few studies have investigated the association between these two functions in the elderly. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between articulation and the risk of swallowing in rural community-dwelling elderly Japanese individuals. Two-hundred and sixty-six independent elderly living in the northern area of Miyazaki and the Shiribeshi area in Hokkaido, Japan were investigated to clarify the risk of swallowing using the questionnaire "Dysphagia Risk Assessment for the Community-dwelling Elderly (DRACE)" and oral diadochokinesis using the syllables /pa/, /ta/, /ka/, and /pataka/. The diadochokinetic rates for all four syllables were significantly associated with the DRACE score. In the stepwise multiple regression analysis controlled for confounding factors, oral diadochokinesis for the syllable /pataka/ was a determinant factor for swallowing risk. Our study indicated that oral diadochokinesis associated with the compound syllable /pataka/ might be significant in the evaluation of swallowing risk in rural community-dwelling Japanese elderly.
