The mouth-opening muscular performance in adults and elderlies with and without dysphagia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Tzvika Greenbaum; Leonid Kalichman; Ron Kedem; Alona Emodi-Perlman

doi:10.1016/j.archger.2024.105448

The mouth-opening muscular performance in adults and elderlies with and without dysphagia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2024 Apr 16:124:105448. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2024.105448. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Tzvika Greenbaum¹, Leonid Kalichman², Ron Kedem³, Alona Emodi-Perlman⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: tzvikagg@gmail.com.
² Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
³ Academic Branch, Medical Corps, IDF, Tel Aviv, Israel.
⁴ The School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

PMID: 38653018
DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2024.105448

Abstract

Objectives: To characterize mouth-opening muscular performance (MOMP) in adults and elderly individuals with dysphagia and healthy controls.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from inception to Jan. 26, 2023. Two independent researchers considered the titles, abstracts, and full texts of potentially eligible papers from 1451 search results. Twenty-five studies that evaluated mouth-opening maximal strength (MOMS) in healthy adults, elderly individuals, and patients with dysphagia met the inclusion criteria.

Results: We found comparable, reliable values with significant sex differences in maximal mouth opening strength (MMOS) in the meta-analysis for healthy elderly patients (females 5.31 ± 0.47 kg vs. males 7.04 ± 0.70 kg; mean difference of 0.84 kg). Age has also emerged as an essential factor in reducing strength. There was a significant reduction in the MMOS score in the only study that compared dysphagic individuals to healthy elderly individuals. In another study, the MMOS score was comparable to the meta-analysis of healthy elderly individuals.

Conclusions: Both sex and age play significant roles in the MMOS. There is no reliable data on the normal mouth-opening strength and endurance of healthy adults, patients with dysphagia, or individuals with other relevant clinical problems.

Keywords: Dysphagia; Jaw-opening force; Mouth-opening force; Muscle strength; Suprahyoid muscle.

Publication types

Review