Sarcopenia is an Independent Risk Factor for Dysphagia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

• Published in: Dysphagia Vol. 34; no. 5; pp. 692 - 697
• Main Authors: Cha, Seungwoo, Kim, Won-Seok, Kim, Ki Woong, Han, Ji Won, Jang, Hak Chul, Lim, Soo, Paik, Nam-Jong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Cross-Sectional Studies; Deglutition disorders; Deglutition Disorders - epidemiology; Deglutition Disorders - etiology; Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry; Dysphagia; Female; Gastroenterology; Geriatric Assessment; Health risk assessment; Hepatology; Humans; Imaging; Independent Living - statistics & numerical data; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Muscles; Older people; Original Article; Otorhinolaryngology; Radiology; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenia - complications; Skeletal muscle; Swallowing; Republic of Korea; South Korea; Sarcopenia; Deglutition; Aged; Deglutition disorders; Older adults
• ISSN: 0179-051X; 1432-0460; 1432-0460
• DOI: 10.1007/s00455-018-09973-6

Dysphagia is common in older adults and associated with increased socioeconomic burdens. Recently, sarcopenia is considered to be a possible contributor for dysphagia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association of dysphagia with sarcopenia in a geriatric population in Korea. This is a cross-sectional study using data from the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging (KLoSHA). Community-dwelling men and women aged 65 years and older without common causes of dysphagia in Seongnam City, Korea were included ( N  = 236). Dysphagia was screened using Standardized Swallowing Assessment. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass was calculated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Grip strength and long-distance corridor walk were assessed. Of 236 subjects, 54 (22.9%) showed dysphagia and 38 (16.1%) showed sarcopenia. Fourteen (5.9%) participants were diagnosed with sarcopenic dysphagia. In multiple logistic regression analysis for dysphagia, sarcopenia was the only significant variable with odds ratio of 2.738 (95% confidence interval 1.160–6.466). Sarcopenia was associated with increased risk of dysphagia in community-dwelling older adults having no common causes of dysphagia even after adjusting for possible confounders. A prospective study with a larger sample size is needed to reveal their causal relationship in the future.