Oropharyngeal dysphagia and quality of life in elderly people in the late phase after stroke

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: to verify the correlation between oropharyngeal dysphagia and quality of life in elderly people in the late phase after stroke. Methods: a retrospective cross-sectional study, whose data were obtained by analyzing a database composed of 30 elderly people in the late phase after stroke. All participants underwent clinical and instrumental evaluation of swallowing through the fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing. The quality of life related to swallowing was analyzed using the Quality of Life in Swallowing Disorders protocol. Data were submitted to descriptive statistical analysis and Spearman's correlation test (p ≤ 0.05). Results: the clinical evaluation showed that most individuals had mild oropharyngeal dysphagia, while the protocol applied in the instrumental evaluation showed swallowing with functional limitations. There was a positive correlation between burden, eating desire, eating duration, and mental health with the severity of oropharyngeal dysphagia, both by clinical and instrumental evaluation; and between the symptom’s frequency and the severity of dysphagia by clinical evaluation. Conclusion: there was a correlation between the severity of oropharyngeal dysphagia and the quality of life of elderly people in the late phase after stroke.