Dysphagia in the elderly: management and nutritional considerations

Dysphagia in the elderly: management and nutritional considerations

Dysphagia is a prevalent difficulty among aging adults. Though increasing age facilitates subtle physiologic changes in swallow function, age-related diseases are significant factors in the presence and severity of dysphagia. Among elderly diseases and health complications, stroke and dementia reflect high rates of dysphagia. In both conditions, dysphagia is associated with nutritional deficits...

Diagnosis and Management of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia and Its Nutritional and Respiratory Complications in the Elderly

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a major complaint among older people. Dysphagia may cause two types of complications in these patients: (a) a decrease in the efficacy of deglutition leading to malnutrition and dehydration, (b) a decrease in deglutition safety, leading to tracheobronchial aspiration which results in aspiration pneumonia and can lead to death. Clinical screening methods should be used...

Special considerations for nutritional studies in elderly.

The elderly population is increasing and it is well documented that may present some health problems related to nutritional intake. Both mental and physical impairments in the elderly may need specific adaptations to dietary assessment methods. But all self-report approaches include systematic and random errors, and under-reporting of dietary energy intake is common. Biomarkers of protein intak...

Dysphagia in the elderly.

Elderly patients are inherently predisposed to dysphagia predominately because of comorbid health conditions. With the aging of the population in the United States, along with the increased prevalence of obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease, healthcare providers will increasingly encounter older patients with either oropharyngeal or esophageal disease and complaints of dysphagia. Useful ...

Nutritional Support in Dysphagia