The Impact of Dysphagia on Quality of Life in Ageing and Parkinson’s Disease as Measured by the Swallowing Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL) Questionnaire

Abstract

This prospective, cross-sectional study evaluated the impact of dysphagia on quality of life in healthy ageing and in subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD) using the Swallowing Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL) questionnaire. Sixteen healthy young adults (8 males, mean age = 25.1 years) and 16 healthy elders (8 males, mean age = 72.8 years) were recruited. Thirty-two subjects with idiopathic PD (mean age = 68.5 years) were recruited from a movement disorders clinic. The severity of PD was staged using the Hoehn and Yahr scale. Results revealed that elders experienced symptoms of dysphagia more frequently than young adults but the overall SWAL-QOL scores were not significantly different. Subjects with PD who experienced dysphagia reported greatly reduced QOL, and significant differences were found in all but one subsection of the SWAL-QOL. Disease progression detrimentally impacts QOL, with subjects in later-stage PD experiencing further reduction in the desire to eat, difficulty with food selection, and prolonged eating duration. These features, which increase with disease severity, are likely to impact negatively upon nutritional status, which is already under threat from PD-related dysphagia.

Qualidade de vida em deglutição em idosos saudáveis

“…Our results, that indicate elevated scores in healthy elderly, corroborate a study developed to investigate the quality of life with the advance of age and with Parkinson's disease (25) , using SWAL-QOL. The authors concluded that there are no differences regarding the means presented by the healthy elderly and healthy young adults, that is, the normal aging process do not affect swallowing.…”

“…The elderly, in general, did not report difficulties related to swallowing and/or eating. It is possible that mild symptoms such as casual coughs, chewing difficulty and secretions, are considered by them as part of the natural aging process, and for that reason, do not create great bothers and concerns, as an international study showed, in which the healthy elderly took part in the control group and also answered the SWAL-QOL protocol (25) .…”

“…In the article cited above (25) , the advance of age was not considered an influence factor in the quality of life of healthy people, since the older elderly presented differences in the self-evaluation in comparison to young adults. In our study, we also observed no decrease in the scores or worsen on quality of life related to swallowing as the age of the elderly advances, that is, 89 year old individuals evaluated themselves similarly to 60 year old individuals, regarding eating.…”

Dysphagia in Parkinson’s Disease

“…Treatment of dysphagia in PD requires specialized rehabilitation combining treatment strategies that maximize social functioning, minimize the swallowing burden on the patient, and improve mental health [35].…”

Swallowing Quality of Life After Zona Incerta Deep Brain Stimulation

“…Both Keage et al 30 and Timmerman et al 29 recommend the validated 'Swallowing Quality of Life' (SWAL-QOL) questionnaire as a first preference 34 . SWAL-QOL has been used in swallowing studies for different patient groups as well as for the evaluation of therapeutic effects 18,35 .…”