Association between malnutrition and low tongue pressure in community-dwelling older people: a population-based cohort study

The aim of this study was to analyze the data from a cohort study of community-dwelling older people to clarify the impact of low tongue pressure on the onset of malnutrition. The analysis was divided into a baseline and a longitudinal analysis. The baseline analysis included 765 people (median age: 74 years; 276 men and 489 women), and the longitudinal analysis included 100 people (median age: 72 years; 33 men and 67 women). The baseline analysis showed that tongue pressure and the diagnosis of low tongue pressure using a cut-off of 30 kPa were associated with the risk of malnutrition (tongue pressure: odds ratio [OR] = 0.972, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.953-0.992, p = 0.006; the diagnosis of low tongue pressure: OR = 1.555, 95% CI = 1.050-2.302, p = 0.027). In the longitudinal analysis, tongue pressure and the diagnosis of low tongue pressure at baseline were associated with the onset of the risk of malnutrition after 4 years (tongue pressure: OR = 0.952, 95% CI = 0.907-0.998, p = 0.041; the diagnosis of low tongue pressure: OR = 2.698, 95% CI = 1.148-6.341; p = 0.023). In community-dwelling older people, low tongue pressure could increase the risk of future malnutrition.