Effects of Olfactory Stimulation on Swallowing Function in Taiwanese Older Adults

Yea-Jyh Chen; Yea-Tzy Chen; Li-Chu Lin; Su-Chiu Chen; Chi-Te Wang; Chun-Man Hsieh

doi:10.1177/23337214211015449

Effects of Olfactory Stimulation on Swallowing Function in Taiwanese Older Adults

Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2021 May 25:7:23337214211015449. doi: 10.1177/23337214211015449. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Yea-Jyh Chen¹, Yea-Tzy Chen^{2

3}, Li-Chu Lin⁴, Su-Chiu Chen², Chi-Te Wang^{3

5}, Chun-Man Hsieh⁶

Affiliations

¹ University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, USA.
² National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Cathay General Hospital (Sijhih Branch), Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ Tajen University, Pingtung, Taiwan.

Abstract

This pretest-posttest pilot study was to examine the effects of how olfactory stimulation (OS) influenced swallowing function in older adults. Forty-four community-dwelling older residents (24 OS & 20 control) from southern Taiwan were recruited. Participants in the intervention group administered pre-meal OS using odor and flavor inhalation. The study found that physiological responses for different food textures significantly differed between groups at post-test (p ≤ .02). Within the experimental group, swallowing function, and individual satisfaction showed significant differences before and after the odor inhalation over time (p < .01, $η_{p}^{2}$ = 0.16-0.33). An individual's satisfaction to their own swallowing capacity was largely enhanced by the significant interaction between time and group (F[1, 42] = 11.34, p = .002, $η_{p}^{2}$ = 0.21), but not for physiological response to OS and swallowing function. The results suggest OS may be advantageous to improving physiological response to OS, swallowing function and satisfaction with swallowing capacity in older adults.

Keywords: Taiwan; aging; olfactory stimulation; presbyphagia; swallowing function.