Evaluation of Swallowing Function according to the Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

PARLAK M. M., BABADEMEZ M. A., Tokgoz S. A., Bizpoinar O., Saylam G.

FOLIA PHONIATRICA ET LOGOPAEDICA, vol.74, no.3, pp.186-194, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 74 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1159/000519263
  • Journal Name: FOLIA PHONIATRICA ET LOGOPAEDICA
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, EMBASE, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MEDLINE, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.186-194
  • Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Swallowing, Dysphagia, Evaluation, OROPHARYNGEAL DYSPHAGIA, DEMENTIA, MANAGEMENT, ASPIRATION, STROKE, DIAGNOSIS, DEFICITS, BEDSIDE, STATE
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, and swallowing difficulties may occur as the disease progresses. Dysphagia has many consequences, such as aspiration and pneumonia. In particular, in the advanced stage, approximately 70% of the causes of death in AD involve aspiration pneumonia. Therefore, it is vital to assess the presence or absence of dysphagia in AD. Objective: This study aims to describe swallowing difficulty across the stages of AD. Methods: Thirty-five AD patients were evaluated. The Mini-Mental State Examination was conducted. A bedside water swallow test (BWST) and the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) were administered. Finally, fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing was used to evaluate residual, aspiration and penetration conditions. Results: EAT-10 scores, BWST results, and penetration-aspiration status were statistically significantly different according to AD stage (p < 0.05). Among all patients, 74.3% had residue, 25.7% had penetration, and 2.9% had aspiration. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that swallowing dys- function begins at a mild stage and progressively worsens toward the advanced stage in patients with AD. At all stages of AD, residue was observed, and this poses a risk for the development of penetration-aspiration. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the early dysphagia of individuals. (C) 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel