Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tongue muscle quality index, which was represented as tongue muscle pressure divided by tongue muscle mass, and swallowing speed in community-dwelling older women.
Methods: The inclusion criteria for this cross-sectional study were that participants be community-dwelling older women aged 65 years and above without dysphagia. The exclusion criteria were stroke and Parkinson's disease that directly cause dysphagia. We measured tongue muscle thickness and maximum tongue pressure and the tongue muscle quality index, which was defined as the maximum tongue pressure divided by tongue muscle thickness. We investigated swallowing speed via a 100 ml water swallowing test. To assess the relationship between tongue muscle characteristics and swallowing speed, we performed stepwise multiple regression analysis.
Results: Ninety-three participants were enrolled in this study (mean age: 84.2 ± 4.7 years). A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that age (β = - 0.292, p < 0.01) and tongue muscle quality index (β = 0.267, p < 0.01) were related to swallowing speed.
Conclusion: We found that tongue muscle quality index was related to swallowing speed in community-dwelling older women. According to our findings, it is possible that the tongue muscle quality index is a useful parameter for assessing swallowing speed in older women without dysphagia.
Keywords: Community-dwelling older; Swallowing speed; Tongue muscle characteristics; Tongue muscle quality.