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Review
. 2022 May 6;11(9):2605.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11092605.

Prevalence and Methods for Assessment of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Thanh-Nhan Doan  1   2 , Wen-Chao Ho  1 , Liang-Hui Wang  3   4 , Fei-Chun Chang  4   5 , Nguyen Thanh Nhu  6 , Li-Wei Chou  5   7   8
Affiliations
Review

Prevalence and Methods for Assessment of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Thanh-Nhan Doan et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of dysphagia in older adults, subgrouping by recruitment settings and varying dysphagia assessment methods.

Methods: Five major databases were systematically searched through January 2022. A random-effects model for meta-analysis was conducted to obtain the pooled prevalence.

Results: Prevalence of dysphagia in the community-dwelling elderly screened by water swallow test was 12.14% (95% CI: 6.48% to 19.25%, I2 = 0%), which was significantly lower than the combined prevalence of 30.52% (95% CI: 21.75% to 40.07%, I2 = 68%) assessed by Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA) and volume-viscosity swallow test (V-VST). The dysphagia prevalence among elderly nursing home residents evaluated by SSA was 58.69% (95% CI: 47.71% to 69.25%, I2 = 0%) and by the Gugging Swallowing Screen test (GUSS) test was 53.60% (95% CI: 41.20% to 65.79%, I2 = 0%). The prevalence of dysphagia in hospitalized older adults screened by the 10-item Eating Assessment Tool was 24.10% (95% CI: 16.64% to 32.44%, I2 = 0%), which was significantly lower than those assessed by V-VST or GUSS tests of 47.18% (95% CI: 38.30% to 56.14%, I2 = 0%).

Conclusions: Dysphagia is prevalent in the elderly, affecting approximately one in three community-dwelling elderly, almost half of the geriatric patients, and even more than half of elderly nursing home residents. The use of non-validated screening tools to report dysphagia underestimates its actual prevalence.

Keywords: assessment; community; dysphagia; hospital; nursing home; older adults; prevalence; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA diagram of the study selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of dysphagia in community-dwelling elderly. SSA, Standardized Swallowing Assessment; V-VST, volume-viscosity swallow test.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of dysphagia in nursing home residents. EAT-10, 10-item Eating Assessment Tool; GUSS, Gugging Swallowing Screen test; SSA, Standardized Swallowing Assessment.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prevalence of dysphagia in hospitalized older adults. EAT-10, 10-item Eating Assessment Tool; multiple consistency test, volume-viscosity swallow test or Gugging Swallowing Screen test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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