Purpose
To characterize tongue pressure in elderly individuals.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional study involving 45 individuals aged between 61 and 96 years old (34 [75.6%] women; 11 [24.4%] men) with no neurological or cognitive disorders, no history of head or neck cancer, and no history of radiotherapy. The subjects were surveyed with a questionnaire that recorded the presence or absence of complaints about swallowing problems and an orofacial myofunctional evaluation, which examined the movement and tension of the tongue. The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) was used to measure tongue pressure. The data analysis was descriptive, with significance set at the 5% level.
Results
The mean pressure peak was 44.6 kPa (±16), with minimum and maximum values of 9 and 88 kPa, respectively. Pressure peak and age were moderately and negatively correlated. The oldest subject had the lowest average pressure peak, which was less than the normal range. The mean pressure peak differed according to the use of dentures, tongue pressure, and tongue mobility during clicking.
Conclusion
The pressure peak and the pressure of the tongue decreased moderately with increasing age, decreasing tongue tension, and mobility during clicking. In contrast, the pressure peak values were higher in the elderly who used dentures than those who did not.
Pressure; Tongue; Aged; Prostheses and implants; Deglutition