Background:

Dysphagia and cognitive impairment are common in older people. It is linked to alterations in brain areas related to swallowing.

Objective:

To explore the characteristics of dysphagia using fluoroscopy in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.

Material and methods:

158 participants from a memory clinic. Specific criteria for MCI and dementia were used. Dysphagia was assessed with EAT-10 (≥3). Those who accepted completed a fluoroscopy study with a barium swallow to evaluate the phases of swallowing; the presence of bronchoaspiration supported the diagnosis of dysphagia. A logistic regression analysis was performed to test the probability between dysphagia and MCI.

Results:

According to EAT-10, 86 (54.4 %) were at risk of dysphagia, confirmed in 84 by fluoroscopy, 53.8 % MCI group and 46.2 % dementia. An inverse association was observed in the MCI oral phase group (OR 0.23, p < 0.025), and a positive association; in protection phase against regurgitation (OR 3.76, p < 0.056) and laryngeal muscle contraction (OR 3.22, p < 0.045) versus dementia group.

Conclusions:

The study showed a high frequency of dysphagia in patients with MCI, this highlights the importance of its early detection to improve complications associated with dysphagia.