Efficacy of Swallowing Resistance Exercise on Swallowing Func-tion and Nutritional Status in Diabetic Elderly at Risk for Dyspha-gia: Randomized Controlled Study

Older people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at increasing risk for dysphagia; therefore, this study was designed to investigate the protective effect of swallowing resistance exercise (SRE) on swallowing function (SF), nutritional status, and dysphagia risk in elderly individuals with T2DM. Sixty elderly patients with T2DM, at risk for dysphagia, were randomly allocated into an intervention group (received SRE; n=30) and a control group (n=30). The SRE programme consisted of alternative daily sessions of chin-tuck SRE (30% maximum chin-tuck strength intensity) for 12 weeks. The SF was assessed using the Swallow Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ), nutritional status using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and dysphagia risk using the Dysphagia Risk Assessment Scale, all evaluated pre- and post-intervention. The data were statistically analysed using paired t-tests and ANCOVA as appropriate. There were significant improvements in the intervention group: the SDQ score decreased by 56.48% (P<0.001), the MNA score increased by 23.28% (P<0.001), and the dysphagia risk decreased by 40.52% (P<0.001). In conclusion, the resisted chin-tuck swallowing exercise programme can prevent deterioration and improve swallowing function, nutritional status, and dysphagia risk in diabetic elderly who are at risk of dysphagia.