Association Between Suprahyoid Muscle Strength 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 suprahyoid muscle strength, which primarily contributes to laryngeal elevation during swallowing, 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. Suprahyoid muscle strength was assessed by the maximum force generated during a chin-tuck maneuver using a validated and reliable device. Tongue pressure and oral diadochokinesis were measured as indicators of swallowing-related muscle function. Potential confounders included body mass index, comorbidities, number of med-ications, functional status, timed up-and-go test and trail-making test times. Results: In logistic regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders, among swallowing-related muscle functions, only suprahyoid muscle strength was significantly associated with sarcopenia; greater strength correlated inversely with sarcopenia (odds ratio = 0.70, p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated acceptable discriminative ability of suprahyoid muscle strength for identifying sarcopenia (area under the curve = 0.82, 95% confidence interval: 0.73–0.91), which was significantly higher than that for tongue pressure (AUC = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.50–0.75; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Among swallowing-related muscle functions, reduced suprahyoid muscle strength may represent an important risk factor for sarcopenia in older adults. Future studies should investigate targeted assessments and interventions focused on improving suprahyoid muscle strength as a potential strategy for sarcopenia prevention.