Department of Otolaryngology, Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 Apr;66(4):452-8. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glq234. Epub 2011 Feb 7.
Recently, subclinical aspiration has been identified in approximately 30% of community-dwelling older adults. Given that the tongue is a key component of the safe swallow, we hypothesized healthy older adults who aspirate will generate less tongue strength than adults who do not aspirate. Furthermore, as muscle weakness may reflect a global effect of aging, we further investigated whether tongue strength is correlated with handgrip strength.
We assessed 78 healthy community-dwelling older adults (M = 77.3 years, SD = 7.26) for aspiration status (37% aspirators) via flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing. Maximal isometric anterior and posterior tongue strength, anterior and posterior swallowing tongue strength, and maximum handgrip strength were measured.
Isometric tongue strength was significantly lower in aspirators versus nonaspirators (p = .03) at both the anterior (463 vs 548 mmHg, respectively) and posterior lingual locations (285 vs 370 mmHg, respectively). Likewise, swallowing tongue strength was significantly lower in aspirators versus nonaspirators at both the anterior (270 vs 317 mmHg, respectively) and posterior lingual locations (220 vs 267 mmHg, respectively). There was no difference between aspirators and nonaspirators' handgrip strength (p > .05), although handgrip strength was correlated with posterior tongue strength (r = .34, p = .005).
Lower anterior and posterior isometric and swallowing tongue strength were dependent on aspiration status. Lower lingual strength in healthy adults may predispose them to aspiration. The correlation between tongue and handgrip strength is consistent with the hypothesis that impaired oropharyngeal strength reflects global age-related declines in muscle strength.
最近，大约 30%的社区居住的老年人被发现存在亚临床吸入。鉴于舌头是安全吞咽的关键组成部分，我们假设健康的吸入老年人的舌力将低于不吸入的成年人。此外，由于肌肉无力可能反映出衰老的整体影响，我们进一步研究了舌力是否与手握力相关。
我们通过吞咽的灵活内镜评估，评估了 78 名健康的社区居住的老年人（M = 77.3 岁，SD = 7.26）的吸入状态（37%的吸入者）。测量了最大等长前舌和后舌强度、前舌和后舌吞咽强度以及最大手握力。
与非吸入者相比，吸入者的等舌力在前舌（463 对 548mmHg，分别）和后舌（285 对 370mmHg，分别）位置均显著降低（p =.03）。同样，与非吸入者相比，在吞咽时，前舌（270 对 317mmHg，分别）和后舌（220 对 267mmHg，分别）位置的舌力也显著降低。吸入者和非吸入者的手握力无差异（p >.05），尽管手握力与后舌力相关（r =.34，p =.005）。
前舌和后舌的等距和吞咽力量的降低与吸入状态有关。健康成年人较低的舌力可能使他们易发生吸入。舌力和手握力之间的相关性与口咽力量受损反映与年龄相关的肌肉力量整体下降的假设一致。
