Department of Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 12;14(1):27745. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79268-4.
The physiological and functional changes from aging affect the systemic and swallowing muscles. While ultrasound is used to examine muscle characteristics, no previous studies have examined the relationship between age and perioral and trunk muscle characteristics, including stiffness. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between age and the characteristics of perioral and trunk muscles, including quality, quantity, and stiffness, using ultrasound. A total of 215 participants were recruited for this cross-sectional study: 98 younger adults (20-64 years) and 117 older adults (≥ 65 years). Muscle characteristics were assessed along with data on age, sex, body mass index, and number of teeth. The correlation between age and muscle characteristics was examined. Multiple linear regression was performed with muscle characteristics as dependent variables and age, body mass index, and number of teeth as explanatory variables. We found that only trunk muscle stiffness was associated with age, with a stronger correlation in quality and quantity than perioral muscles. Masseter muscle quality and quantity showed a higher correlation with age than those of the geniohyoid muscle. In conclusion, characteristics of the trunk and perioral muscles exhibit differences in age-related changes, highlighting the importance of maintaining both trunk and perioral muscle activity in older adults to prevent functional decline.
衰老引起的生理和功能变化会影响全身和吞咽肌肉。虽然超声检查可用于检查肌肉特征，但以前没有研究过年龄与口周和躯干肌肉特征（包括僵硬度）之间的关系。本研究旨在使用超声检查来研究年龄与口周和躯干肌肉特征（包括质量、数量和僵硬度）之间的关系。共有 215 名参与者参与了这项横断面研究：98 名年轻成年人（20-64 岁）和 117 名老年人（≥65 岁）。评估了肌肉特征以及年龄、性别、体重指数和牙齿数量的数据。检查了年龄与肌肉特征之间的相关性。将肌肉特征作为因变量，年龄、体重指数和牙齿数量作为解释变量进行多元线性回归。我们发现，只有躯干肌肉僵硬度与年龄相关，其与质量和数量的相关性强于口周肌肉。与颏舌肌相比，咀嚼肌的质量和数量与年龄的相关性更高。总之，躯干和口周肌肉的特征表现出与年龄相关的变化差异，这强调了在老年人中保持躯干和口周肌肉活动的重要性，以预防功能下降。
