Prevalence of Swallowing Disorders and Its Association with Geriatric Syndromes in Elderly Patients Attending to a First Level Care Center

Background Worldwide ageing population is increasing and this is followed by an increase in some negative outcomes called Geriatric Syndromes (GS). A key element of overall health in elderly is adequate swallowing. The swallowing disorders (SD) have been associated with some GS, like malnutrition and depression in elders. Objectives To determine the prevalence of Swallowing disorders (SD) and its associations between socio-demographic characteristics, health status and some GS in adults aged 60 or older, attending at first level care in Mexico. Methods Cross-sectional study in participants aged 60, recruited in 2016. Participants underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), with which the diagnosis of Swallowing disorders (SD) and GS was obtained. Regression analyses adjusted for confounding variables were determined to establish the association between the socio-demographic characteristics, Swallowing disorders (SD) and some GS. Results We included 264 subjects, mean age was 73 years (SD = 6), women accounted for 60 %. Overall, 13 % had cough when eating food and 12 % had a choking feeling during swallowing. After adjusted by age, sex and literacy, multiple logistic regression analyses showed a significant association between cough, choking and some GS (falls, depression, pain, immobility and malnutrition risk). Conclusions This study showed that the prevalence of swallowing disorders is higher in Mexican elders. These results suggest the importance of monitoring swallowing capabilities, as they seem to confer a negative impact on health status of the elderly, and that the swallowing evaluation should be included in the geriatric assessment to prevent GS.