Are Dysphagia Symptoms Associated With Physical Pre-frailty and Frailty in Older Adults?

Abstract

Objective

To investigate whether dysphagia symptoms are associated with the incidence of physical pre-frailty and frailty in older adults.

Methods

A sample of 149 participants without pre-frailty or frailty at baseline was analyzed. Data were collected at baseline and at a 9-year follow-up. A multinomial regression model was run and controlled for socioeconomic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics.

Results

Many participants (41.6%) had dysphagia symptoms. Dysphagia symptoms were associated with physical pre-frailty (RR = 2.37, 95%CI 1.02–5.50) and frailty (RR = 3.64, 95%CI 1.01–13.21).

Conclusion

Dysphagia symptoms are associated with an increased likelihood of incident physical pre-frailty and frailty in community-dwelling older adults. Thus, early multidisciplinary identification of dysphagia symptoms in older adults can help prevent pre-frailty and frailty in this population.

Keywords

aging dysphagia deglutition frailty older adults

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