Relationship between the nutritional state of elderly people in need of support or nursing care and jaw-opening force and tongue pressure.

[Purpose] We hypothesized that an association exists between the nutritional state of elderly people and the deterioration in the swallowing function associated with sarcopenia, which is reflected by the strength of the tongue and suprahyoid muscles. Therefore, we conducted a comparative study of the nutritional state and swallowing muscle strength. [Participants and Methods] The participants in this study were 25 elderly people in need of support or nursing care, situated at a geriatric health service facility, who were able to understand instructions and ate three meals per day orally.