The predictive value of tongue pressure for dysphagia in community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of tongue pressure in the identification of dysphagia among the community-dwelling older people.

METHODS

A survey was conducted involving 3229 older adults aged 65 years and above in a community located in Yiwu, Zhejiang, China, from March to June 2023. The presence of dysphagia was determined using the Water Swallowing Test (WST) and the Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10) questionnaire. Tongue pressure was assessed utilizing the Japanese JMS tongue pressure device. The diagnostic effectiveness of the model was evaluated through Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and the Area Under The Curve (AUC).

RESULTS

The prevalence of dysphagia among the older adults in the community was 17.5%. The AUC for tongue pressure to forecast dysphagia among community-dwelling older adults was determined to be 0.695 (95 % CI: 0.671-0.719), with a designated threshold value of 28.75 kPa.

CONCLUSIONS

The decreaseed tongue pressure was associated with dysphagia among community-dwelling older adults. Effective interventions should be implemented as a positive measure to alleviate the swallowing challenges of older adults.