Effects of Age and Lingual-Palatal Pressure Levels on Submental Surface Electromyography Measures

This study aimed to understand the effects of age and different levels of submaximal LPPs on submental sEMG peak, average, and integrated values in healthy adults. Ninety community-dwelling healthy participants were categorized into three age groups (young: 20 –39 years, middle age: 40–59 years, older: 60 ≥ years). sEMG and LPP measurements were collected concurrently. After placing the sEMG electrodes, the maximal isometric LPP was established using the Iowa oral performance instrument (IOPI) on the anterior tongue. sEMG recordings were condu cted for three submaximal LPP levels, including 40%, 60%, and 80% of the maximum LPP. Two-way repeated measure ANOVAs were conducted to find the effects of age and varying LPP levels on mean sEMG peak, average, and integrated measures. A significant age by LPP level interaction was identified for sE MG peak [F (4, 172) = 4.116,p <  0.007, ηp2 = 0.087], sEMG average [F (4, 170) = 5.049,p <  0.001, ηp2 = 0.106], and sEMG integrated values [F (4, 170) = 4.179,p <  0.003, ηp2 = 0.090]. Post hoc testing demonstrated that, in general, sEMG values significantly increased with rising LPP levels, primarily for younger and middle-aged adults. Furthermore, at 80% of maximum LPP, older adults generated less sEMG average and integrated values than middle age (o nly significant for sEMG integrated value) and younger adults. Likewise, max LPP was lower in older adults compared with young and ...
Source: Dysphagia - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research