Relationship between dysphagia and mild cognitive impairment in a community-based elderly cohort: the Korean longitudinal study on health and aging.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between dysphagia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults residing in an independent-living facility in Korea.

DESIGN: Population-based, cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Seongnam, Korea.

PARTICIPANTS: Korean men and women aged 65 and older living in a typical South Korean city (n = 415) were enrolled in the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging.

MEASUREMENTS: Dysphagia was assessed using the Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA). Cognitive function was evaluated using the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Neuropsychological Assessment Battery, digit span test, and lexical fluency test. MCI was diagnosed using operational diagnostic criteria and further classified into amnestic and nonamnestic MCI.

RESULTS: Men with nonanmestic MCI had a greater likelihood of having dysphagia (odds ratio (OR) = 3.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.12-12.72) than men without MCI. Men with nonanmestic MCI were almost six times as likely to have dysphagia (OR = 5.78, 95% CI = 1.15-29.27) as men with no neurological disorder after adjusting for age, education level, current smoking and drinking, diabetes mellitus, and apolipoprotein E-4 carrier status.

CONCLUSION: Men with nonamnestic MCI were more likely to have dysphagia than were their counterparts without MCI, whereas this difference was not found in men with amnestic MCI and women. Assessment of executive functions that interfere with planning of motor activities may be useful in predicting dysphagia and in planning preventive and therapeutic strategies for older men.