A cross-sectional study of swallowing function and influencing factors in 392 psychiatric inpatients in Guangzhou China

Psychiatric inpatients might experience a higher incidence of dysphagia. However, the factors specifically affecting psychiatric inpatients with dysphagia remain unexplored. This study aims to explore the swallowing function and influencing factors of psychiatric inpatients. A total of 392 psychiatric inpatients were selected for this study. Their swallowing function was evaluated using the Standardized Swallowing Assessment. The data collected included sociodemographic characteristics, Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL). 75% of patients (n = 265) were female and 332 (84.7%) were over 60 years old. The significant factors influencing the swallowing function among psychiatric inpatients included age, diagnosis, duration of illness, somatic comorbidities and admission routes (P < 0.05). After subjecting these factors to linear regression analysis, it was revealed that the swallow function of psychiatric inpatients was strongly correlated with dementia, ADL (moderate dependence, severe dependence), somatic comorbidities, SSRS (utilization of social support, objective support) (P < 0.05). Psychiatric inpatients with dysphagia was affected to varying degrees by dementia, self-care ability, somatic comorbidities and social support. The swallowing function of psychiatric inpatients was associated with dementia, the ability to perform daily activities, somatic comorbidities and social support. Future studies should focus on the recovery of swallowing function and somatic comorbidities, self-care ability, and multi-level social support for psychiatric inpatients.