Swallowing performance of elderly people and sociodemographic, cognitive and language factors.
Jaqueline Cardoso Estácio, Maysa Luchesi Cera, Laura Davison Mangilli
PMID 38836826WHAT IT FOUND
No statistical link was found between swallowing complaints and cognitive or language scores in 32 older adults.
However, all four participants with high self-reported swallowing risk also had lower scores on cognitive and language screenings.
Key findings
01The study found no statistically significant correlation between EAT-10 swallowing scores and age, education, cognitive screening results, or language task results.
02Regression models attempting to predict dysphagia signs or EAT-10 scores based on demographic, cognitive, and language variables did not produce statistically significant results.
03Despite the lack of statistical correlation, all participants with unusual EAT-10 results also had lower MMSE scores and abnormal results in at least one language task.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (32 participants), limiting statistical power. The study used a convenience sample recruited online, which may not represent the general older population. All assessments were conducted remotely via video call, which may have affected test performance and validity, particularly for cognitive and language tasks. The study excluded individuals with known neurological conditions or high aspiration risk, so results only apply to 'typical' older adults without these diagnoses. The Yale Swallow Protocol and other tools were not validated in Portuguese for this specific remote application; the authors used a simple translation.
Declared interests
The study was funded by CAPES (Brazilian federal agency for support and improvement of higher education personnel). The authors declared no other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that cognitive or language decline causes swallowing problems based on this study, as the statistical analysis found no significant correlation between them. The observed overlap in the four high-risk participants is a descriptive finding in a very small sample and does not prove a causal link.