Association between tongue pressure and skeletal muscle mass and muscle function in community-dwelling older people without sarcopenia

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to cross-sectionally investigate relationships between maximum tongue pressure (MTP) and whole-body muscle mass and strength for non-sarcopenic older adults.

Methods: Study participants comprised 341 adults (105 men, 236 women) ≥ 65 years old (mean age, 72.7 ± 4.8 years). Participants were measured for MTP, grip strength, five-time chair stand test (FCST), gait speed, and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI). Multiple regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors was used to analyze relationships between MTP and each other variable.

Results: MTP was significantly related to SMI (r = 0.15, p < 0.001), grip strength (r = 0.12, p < 0.05), FCST (r = - 0.14, p < 0.05), and age (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed a positive association between MTP and SMI, even after accounting for the influence of age, sex, physical performance, and other potential confounding factors.

Conclusion: Whole-body muscle mass was suggested to be decreasing with tongue pressure decline before sarcopenia diagnosis in community-dwelling older adults.

Keywords: Muscle strength; Older adult; Sarcopenia; Skeletal muscle mass; Tongue pressure.