高齢者における舌側運動の口腔筋力および唾液分泌量に対する効果：無作為化臨床試験

Effects of lingual exercises on oral muscle strength and salivary flow rate in elderly adults: a randomized clinical trial.

抄録

目的:

本研究では、2 種類の舌側運動（舌圧嚥下訓練と舌圧抵抗訓練）が高齢者の口腔筋力、唾液分泌量および主観的口腔衛生に及ぼす影響について検討した。

AIM: The present study investigated the effects of two types of lingual exercise (tongue-hold swallowing and tongue-pressure resistance training) on oral muscle strength, salivary flow rate and subjective oral health of the elderly.

方法:

高齢者74名（65歳以上）を3群（舌圧嚥下群、舌圧抵抗訓練群、対照群）に無作為に割り付けた。各グループは、適切に処方された介入を8週間行った。8 週間の介入前後で，舌前方筋力，舌後方筋力，口唇筋力，唾液流量，Oral Health Impact Profile-14 score を測定した．介入前後の差は，対の標本 t 検定で観察した．さらに、共分散分析および分散分析を行い、測定値の群間における差異を明らかにした。

METHODS: We randomly assigned 74 elderly adults (≥65 years) to three groups (tongue-hold swallowing, tongue-pressure resistance training and control groups). Each group participated in 8 weeks of their appropriately prescribed intervention. We measured anterior tongue strength, posterior tongue strength, lip strength, salivary flow rate and Oral Health Impact Profile-14 score before and after 8 weeks. Differences before and after intervention were observed with a paired sample t-test. Moreover, analyses of covariance and variance were performed to determine the differences in the measured values between the groups.

結果:

舌圧嚥下群では舌の前方・後方両方の筋力が向上したが、舌圧抵抗訓練群では舌の前方筋力のみ有意に向上した。舌圧嚥下訓練群、舌圧抵抗訓練群ともに唾液分泌量の増加が見られ、舌圧抵抗訓練群ではより高い唾液分泌量が確認された。しかし、介入前後の主観的口腔衛生スコアの差は有意ではなかった。

RESULTS: The tongue-hold swallowing group showed improvement in both anterior and posterior tongue strength, while the tongue-pressure resistance training group showed a significant increase in only anterior tongue strength. Both the tongue-hold swallowing and tongue-pressure resistance training groups showed increased salivary secretion, with the tongue-pressure resistance training group showing a higher level of salivary secretion. However, the difference in the subjective oral health scores before and after the intervention was not significant.

結論:

2つの舌の運動は、舌の筋肉の一部を強化し、唾液の流量を増加させ、舌圧抵抗訓練群では、舌で飲み込む群よりも唾液の分泌量が多かった。舌の運動が主観的な口腔の健康を高めることができるという根拠は見いだせなかった。Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; --: -----.

CONCLUSIONS: The two lingual exercises strengthened some aspects of tongue muscles and increased the salivary flow rate, with more salivary secretion in the tongue-pressure resistance training group than in the tongue-hold swallowing group. Any evidence of the lingual exercises being able to enhance subjective oral health could not be found. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; ••: ••-••.