Miura Hiroko, Hara Shuichi, Morisaki Naoko, Yamasaki Kiyoko
Area on Community Healthcare, National Institute of Public Health.
Nihon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi. 2013;50(1):110-5. doi: 10.3143/geriatrics.50.110.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between comprehensive quality of life (QOL) and some factors regarding chewing and swallowing function among community-dwelling elderly individuals.
The subjects were 675 independent elderly persons residing in the northern area of Miyazaki Prefecture, and we obtained the self-administered questionnaires from 545 elderly people. We used "active scale for the elderly (ASE)" and "dysphagia risk assessment for the community-dwelling elderly (DRACE)" to evaluate their comprehensive QOL and function of chewing and swallowing, respectively. Furthermore, we examined some factors such as age, gender, subjective satisfaction with diet and verbal communication.
The score of ASE showed a significant decline with age (p<0.01) while the DRACE score increased significantly with age (p<0.01). Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed that the ASE score was significantly related to all of the factors regarding regulation of food intake. Partial correlation coefficients adjusted for age also revealed the same tendency. From the multiple regression analysis, subjective satisfaction with verbal communication, DRACE score, age and appetite were extracted as factors influencing ASE score (adjusted R(2)=0.43, p<0.01).
Among independent elderly persons residing in the community, the comprehensive QOL was significantly related to factors such as subjective satisfaction with verbal communication, dysphagia risk, age, and appetite.
本研究旨在探讨社区居住老年人的综合生活质量（QOL）与咀嚼和吞咽功能相关因素之间的关系。
研究对象为居住在宫崎县北部地区的675名独立老年人，我们从545名老年人那里获得了自填式问卷。我们分别使用“老年人活动量表（ASE）”和“社区居住老年人吞咽困难风险评估（DRACE）”来评估他们的综合生活质量以及咀嚼和吞咽功能。此外，我们还研究了年龄、性别、饮食主观满意度和言语交流等一些因素。
ASE评分随年龄显著下降（p<0.01），而DRACE评分随年龄显著增加（p<0.01）。Pearson相关系数显示，ASE评分与食物摄入调节的所有因素均显著相关。调整年龄后的偏相关系数也显示出相同趋势。多元回归分析结果显示，言语交流主观满意度、DRACE评分、年龄和食欲被提取为影响ASE评分的因素（调整后R(2)=0.43，p<0.01）。
在社区居住的独立老年人中，综合生活质量与言语交流主观满意度、吞咽困难风险、年龄和食欲等因素显著相关。
