Swallowing and ageing

ABSTRACT

It is known that many aspects of swallow function change with age. With a growing population of older people worldwide, the impact of ageing on swallowing must be clarified to improve management and service planning. Understanding the impact of age on swallowing has implications for differentiating between swallowing difficulties associated with ageing and those associated with specific acquired medical conditions. Knowing what is ‘normal’ for swallowing in older people is fundamental to interpreting clinical and instrumental swallow examinations and to inform interventions that might impact on the person’s quality of life. The aim of this paper is to present current evidence on the changes in swallowing associated with normal ageing. The impact of ageing on dysphagia management is explored and future directions for research on ageing and swallowing are considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Swallowing
• age
• seniors
• review
• normal swallow

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Margaret Walshe http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3924-8073