Factors associated with presbyphagia in patients with community-acquired pneumonia: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Presbyphagia, an age-related decline in swallowing function, is considered a precursor stage of dysphagia and a risk state that can lead to aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition. We examined factors associated with presbyphagia in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 80 patients with CAP aged ≥65 years admitted to an acute care hospital between June 2021 and April 2024. Presbyphagia was assessed using the 10-item Eating Assessment Tool. The survey items included grip strength, body mass index, the Mini-Cog©, repetitive saliva swallowing test, tongue pressure, and evaluations for sarcopenia and frailty. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors associated with presbyphagia after adjusting for age and sex.
Results: Of 80 patients, 44 (55%) had presbyphagia. The presbyphagia group was older, had lower Barthel Index scores, and had a higher proportion of history of cerebrovascular accident, sarcopenia and frailty than the non-presbyphagia group. Logistic regression analysis revealed frailty (adjusted odds ratio: 3.106, 95% confidence interval: 1.161-8.313, p = 0.024) was significantly associated with presbyphagia.
Conclusions: Our results revealed a significant association between presbyphagia and frailty in patients with CAP. The relationship between presbyphagia and frailty suggests that these conditions are not caused by a single functional decline or structural change but by a combination of factors. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehensively evaluate presbyphagia in patients with CAP to provide appropriate interventions.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Osamu Hataji received a research grant funding from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Novartis. Osamu Hataji received speaker fees as honoraria from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Diichi Sankyo, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Insmed Incorporated, Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim and FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical. Yasunori Imaoka has no conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 [The Author]. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)