ABSTRACT
The survey was conducted in Shaoxing city from January 2019 to January 2021 among 150 residents aged ≥ 60 years with mild cognitive impairment from Shaoxing People's Hospital and its subordinate branches. The swallowing function was evaluated by eating evaluation questionnaire-10 (EAT-10), and dysphagia (EAT-10 score ≥ 3) was identified in 92 subjects with a prevalence rate of 61.3% (dysphagia group) and other 58 residents without dysphagia was set as normal group. There were significant differences in age, educational level, diet type, history of stroke, history of choking, Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) score, masticatory function score, the number of drug types, self-care ability (Barthel score) in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale between dysphagia group and normal group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that age (≥ 80 years old), educational level (junior middle school and below), history of stroke, history of choking cough, MMSE score (<23 points), Barthel score (≤ 60 points), masticatory function score (>3 points) and the number of drug types (≥ 3 kinds) were independent risk factors of swallowing disorder in elderly with mild cognitive impairment; and the type of diet (common diet) was the protective factor. It is suggested that the prevalence of dysphagia in community-dwelling elderly with mild cognitive impairment is high, and necessary measures should be taken to intervene according to its risk factors.