Association Between Chin-Tuck-Generated Force and Sarcopenia in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Although swallowing-related muscle function has been implicated in sarcopenia, the association between swallowing-related cervical muscle function and sarcopenia has not been thoroughly examined. The aim of this study was to investigate this association in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 390 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years. Sarcopenia was defined as the concurrent presence of low handgrip strength and low appendicular skeletal muscle mass. The force generated during the chin-tuck maneuver (chin-tuck force) was measured using a dynamometer to indicate swallowing-related cervical muscle function. Tongue pressure and oral diadochokinesis were measured as indicators of swallowing-related muscle function. Potential confounders included body mass index, comorbidities, number of medications, functional capacity, timed up-and-go test and trail-making test times. Results: In logistic regression analyses adjusted for age and sex, chin-tuck force was found to have a statistically significant association with sarcopenia; greater force correlated inversely with sarcopenia (odds ratio = 0.59, p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated acceptable discriminative ability of chin-tuck force for identifying sarcopenia (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.72–0.90), which was significantly higher than that for tongue pressure (AUC = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.50–0.74; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Among swallowing-related muscle functions, reduced chin-tuck force may be associated with sarcopenia in older adults. Future studies should investigate targeted assessments and interventions focused on improving swallowing-related cervical muscle function as a potential strategy for sarcopenia prevention.