Swallow Reaction Time in Healthy Adults.
Kevin Renz Ambrocio, Jonathan Beall, Kendrea L Focht Garand
PMID 40740608WHAT IT FOUND
Swallow reaction time varies widely in healthy adults.
Age, sex, and volume did not significantly affect it, but thicker liquids consistently slowed the swallow. This data helps clinicians distinguish normal variation from true delay when assessing dysphagia.
Key findings
01Viscosity significantly influenced swallow reaction time, with thicker liquids resulting in longer reaction times compared to thin liquids.
02Age, sex, and bolus volume did not show significant differences in swallow reaction time among healthy adults.
03Swallow reaction time correlated with MBSImP Component 6 scores but not with Penetration Aspiration Scale scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used only one trial per swallow task, so it could not assess variability within individual patients. Different cueing instructions were used for different bolus types, which may have influenced reaction times. The cup sip volume was uncontrolled, so the exact amount swallowed was not known. The participants were all healthy, so these norms do not apply to people with existing swallowing disorders.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing financial or nonfinancial interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a delayed swallow reaction time is abnormal for every consistency. This study shows that healthy adults naturally have slower reaction times when swallowing thick liquids, so a delay on a thick bolus may be normal.