Cross-sectional study on dysphagia evaluation in community-dwelling older adults using the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT) -10, EAT-2, and Water Swallow Test

Huafang Zhang; Simei Zhang; Chenxi Ye; Sihan Li; Wenfeng Xue; Jie Su; Yufeng Qiu; Lancai Zhao; Pingping Fu; Haiyan Jiang; Xiaona He; Shunfeng Deng; Tao Zhou; Qi Zhou; Mengling Tang; Kun Chen

doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.10.002

Cross-sectional study on dysphagia evaluation in community-dwelling older adults using the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT) -10, EAT-2, and Water Swallow Test

Geriatr Nurs. 2023 Nov-Dec:54:258-263. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.10.002. Epub 2023 Oct 27.

Authors

Huafang Zhang¹, Simei Zhang², Chenxi Ye¹, Sihan Li¹, Wenfeng Xue¹, Jie Su¹, Yufeng Qiu¹, Lancai Zhao¹, Pingping Fu³, Haiyan Jiang², Xiaona He¹, Shunfeng Deng¹, Tao Zhou¹, Qi Zhou¹, Mengling Tang², Kun Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nursing, Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu 322000, China.
² Department of Public Health, Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu 322000, China.
⁴ Department of Public Health, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: ck@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 37897931
DOI: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.10.002

Abstract

Background: Dysphagia is a health concern that causes severe complications and affects the life quality of the older population. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic performance of the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT)-2 compared with the EAT-10 and the Water Swallow Test (WST) in screening for dysphagia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 5,090 community-dwelling older adults. Dysphagia was evaluated using both a subjective measure, the 10-item EAT (EAT-10) and an objective measure, the WST. The kappa index in pairs were analyzed. The validity and reliability of EAT-2 were also assessed.

Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the EAT-2 were 96.3 % and 94.8 %, respectively. The kappa index between the EAT-2 and EAT-10 was 0.64, whereas it was 0.11 between the EAT-10 and WST.

Conclusions: The EAT-2 was a simpler screening tool for dysphagia. Combining the subjective questionnaire (EAT-10 or EAT-2) and the objective test (WST) is recommended.

Keywords: Dysphagia; Eating Assessment Tool; Older adults; Water Swallow Test.

MeSH terms

Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Deglutition Disorders* / diagnosis
Humans
Independent Living
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires