Dysphagia among Older Patients in a Teaching Hospital, Selangor

Abstract

Introduction: The number of older adults suffering from dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing) has been increasing over the years. This is genuinely concerning as dysphagia may affect one's quality of life, which can then lead to death if left untreated. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with socio-demographic, medical background, anthropometry, dietary intake, risk of malnutrition, and functional status with dysphagia among older patients in Hospital Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (HSAAS). Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among subjects aged 60 and older in Hospital Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (HSAAS), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, using purposive sampling. A set of questionnaires containing seven sections which included sociodemographics, anthropometry, medical background, dietary intake, risk of malnutrition, functional status, and presence of dysphagia were distributed. Meanwhile, Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s Exact Test were used to determine the association between variables. Results: 104 eligible subjects joined this study with a mean age of 69.4 years (6.7 years). Out of 104 subjects, 11.5% were reported to have dysphagia. Based on the statistical analysis, significant associations were found between marital status (p= 0.011), BMI (p= 0.028), dietitian referral (p>0.001), energy adequacy (p= 0.008), protein adequacy (p= 0.004) and risk of malnutrition (p= 0.008) with dysphagia. Conclusion: This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with dysphagia among older adults in HSAAS. The results revealed an 11.5% prevalence of dysphagia, with significant associations found between dysphagia and marital status, BMI, dietitian referral, energy and protein adequacy, and malnutrition risk. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive dysphagia management involving multidisciplinary healthcare teams to address nutritional deficiencies and improve patient outcomes.