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Dysphagia: causes, diagnosis and treatment – an update for practice nurses

02 August 2024

Clinical Focus

02 August 2024

Volume 35 · Issue 8

ISSN (print): 0964-9271

ISSN (online): 2052-2940

Abstract

The number of people with dysphagia is rising in line with population ageing. It is now thought to affect around 5.2 million people in the UK, one adult in 8 (Boaden et. al, 2019). It becomes more common as people age and is associated with neurological problems, frailty and poor outcomes (Patel et. al, 2018: Cohen et. al, 2021). This article aims to update practice nurses on the clinical features of dysphagia, how to identify it, when to refer and how it is managed.

As many as one adults in eight in the UK are affected by dysphagia. Linda Nazarko looks at what nurses need to know when managing this condition.

Dysphagia literally means difficulty eating, drinking or swallowing (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). (2022). Intact motor and nervous systems are essential to enable normal swallowing. Around 5.2 million people, one adult in 8, in the UK have dysphagia (Boaden et. al, 2019). It becomes more common in older age and is associated with neurological problems and frailty (Cohen et. al, 2021: Knott, 2021).

Increasing numbers of people are at risk of dysphagia as the prevalence of conditions that affect swallowing rises with age (Patel et. al, 2018: Cohen et. al, 2021). The number of people aged 90 years and over in the UK has increased by more than 250% in the last 30 years, and was 609,503 in mid-2020 figure one illustrates this (ONS, 2021).

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Dysphagia

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