Dysphagia, Nutrition Status and Activities of Daily Living in Older Adults

Sarcopenia can be classified as primary or secondary sarcopenia depending on it’s cause. To screen for dysphagia a self-questionnaire called EAT-10 is usually given to patients. This questionnaire is composed of 10 items with a score that goes from 0-4. A score equal or over 3 suggest swallowing difficulties. The dysphagia severity score aims to distinguish between dysphagia with aspiration and dysphagia without aspiration.Dysphagia assessed by the EAT-10 is associated with nutritional status and ADL in older people requiring long term care. A combination of both rehabilitation and nutrition care management is beneficial for patients and evaluating nutrition status and disability is important to maximize functionality. Furthermore nutritional improvement can further improve function. It is important to consider ethiology of sarcopenia when choosing treatment.Dysphagia is associated with malnutrition, sarcopenia and ADL. Rehabilitation nutrition is important to maximize functionality in older adults. Nutrition is a vital sign for rehabilitation.