Dysphagia, Swallowing Function, Swallowing Risk
Conditions
Keywords
Dysphagia, Swallowing Function, diadochokinetic, Acoustic Analysis, Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test, EAT-10, Older Adults
Brief summary
This study examines whether simple speech tasks and a swallowing screening test can help identify swallowing risk in adults of different ages. Participants will complete basic questions, a swallowing self-assessment, a saliva swallowing test, and short voice recordings of rapid syllables. The study is non-invasive, takes about 75 minutes, and may help develop an easy, low-cost screening tool for early swallowing problems.
Detailed description
This is a cross-sectional observational study examining the relationship between diadochokinetic (DDK) speech performance and swallowing function in community-dwelling adults aged 18 years and older. Participants will complete a single study visit, during which demographic and health-related information will be collected, the EAT-10 swallowing self-assessment will be administered, the Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test (RSST) will be performed, and short DDK speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/ will be obtained in a quiet setting. Acoustic features will be extracted from the recordings and analyzed together with RSST and EAT-10 results to explore age-related differences and to develop a predictive screening model for swallowing risk. All data will be de-identified, securely stored, and retained according to study requirements.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
Kaohsiung Medical University
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 1.Community-dwelling adults aged 18 years or older, with no upper age limit. * 2.Ability to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese and understand the study procedures. * 3.Willingness to provide written informed consent. * 4 .Ability to complete the DDK tasks and RSST.
Exclusion criteria
* 1.Presence of acute respiratory infection, upper respiratory inflammation, or other acute conditions that may significantly affect speech or swallowing. * 2.Impaired consciousness, significant cognitive deficits, or inability to understand the study procedures. * 3.Recent surgery or radiotherapy involving the oral cavity or pharynx that affects speech or swallowing. * 4.Severe hearing impairment that prevents understanding of instructions. * 5.Any other condition deemed unsuitable for participation by the investigators.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test Classification | Day 1 | Classification of swallowing function based on the Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test (RSST). Participants will be classified as having normal RSST performance if they complete greater than or equal to 3 swallows in 30 seconds, and abnormal RSST performance if they complete fewer than 3 swallows in 30 seconds. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Eating Assessment Tool-10 Total Score | Day 1 | Total score on the Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10), a 10-item self-report questionnaire used to assess swallowing-related symptoms. The total score ranges from 0 to 40, where higher scores indicate worse swallowing-related symptoms. A score of 3 or higher suggests possible swallowing difficulty. |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Rate | Day 1 | Rate of repeated diadochokinetic speech productions of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. The rate will be reported as syllables per second. |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Fundamental Frequency | Day 1 | Fundamental frequency (F0) extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. Fundamental frequency will be reported in Hertz (Hz). |
| Diadochokinetic Speech First Formant Frequency | Day 1 | First formant frequency (F1) extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. F1 reflects the first resonance frequency of the vocal tract and will be reported in Hertz (Hz). |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Second Formant Frequency | Day 1 | Second formant frequency (F2) extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. F2 reflects the second resonance frequency of the vocal tract and will be reported in Hertz (Hz). |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Jitter | Day 1 | Jitter extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. Jitter reflects short-term cycle-to-cycle variability in fundamental frequency and will be reported as a percentage. |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Shimmer | Day 1 | Shimmer extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. Shimmer reflects short-term variability in voice amplitude and will be reported in decibels (dB). |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Harmonics-to-Noise Ratio | Day 1 | Harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR) extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. HNR reflects the ratio of periodic harmonic energy to noise energy in the voice signal and will be reported in decibels (dB). |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Root Mean Square Amplitude | Day 1 | Root mean square (RMS) amplitude extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. RMS amplitude reflects the average acoustic energy of the speech signal and will be reported in normalized amplitude units. |
| Diadochokinetic Speech Zero-Crossing Rate | Day 1 | Zero-crossing rate (ZCR) extracted from repeated diadochokinetic (DDK) speech recordings of /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/. ZCR reflects the rate at which the speech signal changes sign over time and will be reported as the number of zero crossings per second. |
Countries
Taiwan
Contacts
CONTACTHUNG C F Kaohsiung Medical University, MASTER
STUDY_CHAIRGUO L Y Professor and Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Departme, Ph. D.
Department of Sports Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan
Outcome results
None listed