Association of daily physical activity and leisure-time exercise with dysphagia risk in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

Sci Rep. 2023 Jul 5;13(1):10893. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-37605-z.

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the association of daily physical activity and leisure-time exercise with the risk of dysphagia in community-dwelling Japanese older adults using a questionnaire-based survey. We analyzed 3070 participants (1657 men, 1413 women; age 66 ± 4 years [mean ± SD]) of the Shizuoka and Daiko studies within the Japanese Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort study. We used the Dysphagia Risk Assessment for the Community-dwelling Elderly questionnaire to assess dysphagia risk and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire to assess daily physical activity and leisure-time exercise. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the independent association of the amount of physical activity and leisure-time exercise with dysphagia risk. The proportion of participants with dysphagia risk was 27.5% (n = 844) and the risk was significantly higher in women (29.8%, n = 421) than in men (25.5%, n = 423; P = 0.008). Daily physical activity was not associated with dysphagia risk. A greater amount of leisure-time exercise was associated with lower dysphagia risk (P for trend = 0.003) and individuals in the highest leisure-time exercise quartile had a significantly lower odds ratio (0.68, 95% CI 0.52-0.89) than those in the lowest quartile, even after adjusting for the covariates.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cohort Studies
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Deglutition Disorders* / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Independent Living*
  • Leisure Activities
  • Male
  • Middle Aged