Sasebo-Yoshii Community Comprehensive Support Center, Sasebo 859-6305, Japan.
Department of Public Health Nursing, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki 852-8520, Japan.
Nutrients. 2021 Feb 4;13(2):512. doi: 10.3390/nu13020512.
Malnutrition is a core symptom of the frailty cycle in older adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether dysphagia influences nutrition or frailty status in community-dwelling older adults. The study participants were 320 Japanese community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years. All participants completed a questionnaire survey that included items on age, sex, family structure, self-rated health, nutritional and frailty status, and swallowing function. Nutritional status was categorized as malnourished, at risk of malnutrition, and well-nourished based on the Mini Nutrition Assessment-Short Form. The participants were then classified into a malnutrition (malnourished/at risk) or a well-nourished group (well-nourished). Frailty was assessed using the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria. The participants were then divided into a frailty (frail/pre-frail) or a non-frailty group (robust). Dysphagia was screened using the 10-item Eating Assessment Tool. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine whether dysphagia was associated with nutritional or frailty status. The results revealed that dysphagia influenced both nutrition (odds ratio [OR]: 4.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9-8.2) and frailty status (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.0-5.2); therefore, the swallowing function would be an important factor for community-dwelling older adults on frailty prevention programs.
营养不良是老年人虚弱周期的核心症状。本研究旨在探讨吞咽困难是否会影响社区居住的老年人的营养或虚弱状况。研究对象为 320 名年龄在 65 岁及以上的日本社区居住的老年人。所有参与者均完成了一份问卷调查,内容包括年龄、性别、家庭结构、自我评估健康状况、营养和虚弱状况以及吞咽功能。营养状况根据 Mini 营养评估-简短形式分为营养不良、有营养不良风险和营养良好。然后,将参与者分为营养不良(营养不良/有营养不良风险)或营养良好(营养良好)组。虚弱程度采用心血管健康研究标准进行评估。然后,将参与者分为虚弱(虚弱/衰弱前期)或非虚弱组(强健)。吞咽困难使用 10 项饮食评估工具进行筛查。采用多因素逻辑回归分析确定吞咽困难与营养或虚弱状况是否相关。结果表明,吞咽困难既影响营养(比值比 [OR]:4.0;95%置信区间 [CI]:1.9-8.2),也影响虚弱状况(OR:2.3;95% CI:1.0-5.2);因此,吞咽功能对于预防社区居住老年人虚弱的计划是一个重要因素。