嚥下反射を惹起する能力の指標とされる反復唾液嚥下は,嚥下機能評価の重要な指標であるが,その正常値については十分な情報がない。今回,大学生29名を対象に1週間間隔で3回の測定を行ない,若年健常成人の正常値を検討した。その結果,嚥下回数は正規分布しており,30秒間では平均9.6±3.2回(範囲4～18回),60秒間では平均17.4±5.7回(範囲9～34回)だった。全体的には嚥下はほぼ等間隔の時間で規則的に起こっており,嚥下回数と計測開始からの経過時間は比例していた。しかし,より詳細に分析すると,最初の10秒間ではそれ以降と比べて嚥下回数が有意に多かった。また,1週間おきに行なった3回の測定結果を比較すると,1回目の測定での嚥下回数は他の2回より有意に少なく,被検者の能力が十分に発揮されるには複数回の測定が必要なことがわかった。これらのデータは,反復唾液嚥下を嚥下機能改善の指標などとして用いる際に有用だと考えられる。

This study examined young adults' normal values of repetitive saliva swallowing, which is considered to indicate the ability to generate a swallowing reflex; 29 university students participated in the study. The numbers of swallows generated in the periods of 30 and 60 seconds were normally distributed. The average, maximum, and minimum numbers of swallows in 30 seconds were 9.6±3.2(mean±SD), 18, and 4, respectively, and those in 60 seconds were 17.4±5.7(mean±SD), 34, and 9, respectively. The swallows were generally generated at regular intervals, and there was a proportional relation between the number of swallows and the elapsed time. However, a further analysis revealed that the swallows were more frequently generated in the first 10-second period than in the later periods. In addition, a comparison of the results from 3 trials of measurement, which were conducted at 1-week intervals, showed that the number of swallows generated in the first trial was significantly smaller than that in the second or third trial. The findings in this study can be useful when considering the use of repetitive saliva swallowing as a means of evaluating the improvement of swallowing ability.

報告

Report

国立情報学研究所で電子化