Purpose
To relate the findings of oral diadochokinesis (DDK) and masticatory function in healthy elderly.
Methods
Analysis of medical records and images files of 35 healthy elderly subjects aged 60 to 74 years. The masticatory type and other behaviors associated with mastication of bread (1cm thick), the analysis of food seizure, bolus formation and measurement of chewing time, using a timer, were considered. For DDK assessment, the syllabic emissions "pa", "ta", "ka" and the tri-syllable "pataka", as to the parameters automatically provided by the Motor Speech Profile Advanced program (KayPentax®), were analyzed. Relevant statistics was performed for the correlation between the qualitative aspects of masticatory function and DDK.
Results
The statistical analysis showed a correlation between the chewing time and the parameters coefficient of peak intensity variation of syllable ‘'ta'' and disturbance time of syllable "ka'', indicating DDK instability. No correlation with the data of oral DDK was seen for the masticatory type, seizure and bolus formation.
Conclusion
Oral DDK correlated with the chewing time in healthy elderly, showing that the higher the instability in the repetition of movements of the tip and the back of the tongue, during articulatory production, the longer the time required to prepare the food for swallowing.
Aging; Health of the elderly; Mastication; Evaluation; Speech articulation tests