Frequency of Conversation, Laughter and Other Vocalising Opportunities in Daily Life and Maximum Tongue Pressure: The Goto Longevity Study.

BACKGROUND

Staying active in daily life is believed to help maintain individuals' oral motor function and prevent oral frailty, a potential risk factor for general health. However, there is limited epidemiological evidence of this association. This study focused on vocalising frequency as an indicator of activeness in daily life.

METHODS

We conducted a home-visit survey targeting residents aged ≥ 65 years in a rural community in the Goto Islands, Japan. Among 563 participants, those with missing data for the main outcome or vocalising (n = 84) were excluded. Tongue pressure was measured thrice; we used maximum tongue pressure as a marker of tongue motor function. Frequency of conversation, laughter and other vocalising opportunities (e.g., singing or Buddhist chanting) was measured. The multivariate-adjusted regression models were used to calculate parameter estimates (B) for tongue pressure according to the frequency of vocalisation.

RESULTS

Among the 479 participants, the proportion of individuals who answered 'every day' was 77% for conversation, 48% for laughter and 47% for other vocalising opportunities. Participants engaging every day in other vocalising opportunities recorded higher maximum tongue pressure (B = 2.26; p = 0.03) than those who did not at all. Sex did not affect this association (p interaction = 0.72). Conversation and laughter every day overlapped with the everyday category of other vocalising opportunities, but they were not associated with tongue pressure.

CONCLUSION

Engaging every day in vocalising opportunities other than conversation or laughter was independently associated with a higher maximum tongue pressure in older adults than those who vocalised less often.