Objective: To verify the association between older adults’ swallowing function and the frailty process, global and oral intake functioning, comorbidities, and sociodemographic aspects. Method: Observational, analytical, cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sample of 100 older adults in the process of frailty, treated at a referral center for older adults in the national health system. Data were collected using the following instruments: Clinical-Functional Vulnerability Index-20 (IVCF-20), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Charlson Comorbidity Index, Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation Protocol with Scores for Older People (OMES-O) and Oropharyngeal Dysphagia Screening in Older Adults (RaDI). The study classified swallowing function based on the OMES-O and RaDI and performed descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Results: Only the score in the “mobility” section of the IVCF-20 remained associated with the outcome in the final model. For dysphagia, each one-point increase in the mobility score was associated with a 40.5% increase in the odds of dysphagia. Conclusion: Poorer performance in the mobility domain of the IVCF-20 was independently associated with higher odds of dysphagia. Speech-language-hearing pathologists working with this population must have a comprehensive understanding of their physical and functional needs.
Oliveira et al. (Fri,) studied this question.