Crow H C, Ship J A
Department of Oral Medicine, Pathology, and Surgery, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, USA.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1996 Sep;51(5):M247-50. doi: 10.1093/gerona/51a.5.m247.
It is generally accepted that age-related changes occur in voluntary muscle. Studies of hand grip strength and aging demonstrate a decrease in strength with age; however, there are little data regarding tongue function. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of increased age to tongue strength and endurance.
A pressure transducer, the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument, was used to measure maximal strength and endurance of both the hand and tongue. Ninety-nine healthy volunteers from the oral physiology component of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging were divided into four age groups, ranging from 21 to 96 years of age. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine differences in strength and endurance between age groups and genders. Regression analysis was done to determine the relationship of strength and endurance with age.
Gender analysis indicated that both tongue and hand strength were greater in males; however, tongue and hand endurance demonstrated no gender differences. The strength in both the tongue and hand decreased with age. Individuals over the age of 79 years showed statistically decreased tongue strength, and individuals over the age of 59 years showed statistically decreased hand strength. There was no significant change in the tongue and hand endurance with age.
The results of this study suggest that tongue function is gender- and age-dependent and follows the same trends as hand function. Tongue strength is decreased in older individuals and females, while tongue endurance is gender- and age-independent.
人们普遍认为随意肌会发生与年龄相关的变化。对手握力与衰老的研究表明，力量会随着年龄增长而下降；然而，关于舌功能的数据却很少。本研究的目的是确定年龄增长与舌力量和耐力之间的关系。
使用一种压力传感器——爱荷华口腔功能仪器，来测量手和舌的最大力量及耐力。从巴尔的摩纵向衰老研究的口腔生理学部分选取了99名健康志愿者，分为四个年龄组，年龄范围从21岁到96岁。采用多变量方差分析来确定年龄组和性别之间在力量和耐力方面的差异。进行回归分析以确定力量和耐力与年龄的关系。
性别分析表明，男性的舌力量和手力量都更强；然而，舌耐力和手耐力没有性别差异。舌力量和手力量都随着年龄增长而下降。79岁以上的个体舌力量在统计学上显著下降，59岁以上的个体手力量在统计学上显著下降。舌耐力和手耐力不会随年龄发生显著变化。
本研究结果表明，舌功能取决于性别和年龄，并且与手功能遵循相同的趋势。老年个体和女性的舌力量下降，而舌耐力与性别和年龄无关。
