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Temporal Analysis of Factors Associated with EAT-10 in Outpatients with Oropharyngeal Dysphagia from a Tertiary Care Clinic

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Abstract

Self-perception of disease is increasingly recognized as a determinant of health. The Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10) is a functional health status questionnaire that measures the symptomatic severity of dysphagia from the patient’s perspective. The objective of this work was to identify factors (demographics, clinical variables, swallowing physiology, health-related quality of life) associated with longitudinal change in EAT-10 scores in outpatients with oropharyngeal dysphagia at a multi-disciplinary, tertiary care clinic. All patients with swallowing concerns that were included in the UW Madison Voice and Swallowing Outcomes database from 12/2012 to 04/2015 were invited to complete EAT-10 and a general health-related quality of life survey (SF-12v2) at their initial evaluation and six months later. Forty-two patients were included in analysis (n = 42). Weaning from a gastrostomy tube was significantly associated with EAT-10 improvement. Approximately 70% of the sample had mild dysphagia, and floor effects were observed for all EAT-10 items in this sample subset. Mean SF-12v2 Physical Component Summary score was substantially lower than that of the general population. Significant, weak–moderate correlations were found between EAT-10 and SF-12v2 scores for all comparisons except for Physical Health Composite at six months (rs = = 0.24 to − 0.43). Weaning from a feeding tube appears to meaningfully improve self-perceived symptoms of dysphagia. Given the floor effects observed, validity of EAT-10 for patients with mild dysphagia should be examined. Future research should address contributors to self-perceived symptom change across the range of dysphagia severity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Glen Leverson, PhD for statistical assistance, Elisa R. Derickson for database support, and Beth Harper for guidance with American Community Survey data.

Funding

This study was funded by National Institutes of Health NIDCD (R01 4336).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 5118, Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research, 1111 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    R. S. Bartlett PhD & J. E. Moore MS

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 5107, Wisconsin Institute Medical Research, 1111 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    S. L. Thibeault PhD

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  1. R. S. Bartlett PhD
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  2. J. E. Moore MS
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Correspondence to S. L. Thibeault PhD.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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All work was performed at University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Bartlett, R.S., Moore, J.E. & Thibeault, S.L. Temporal Analysis of Factors Associated with EAT-10 in Outpatients with Oropharyngeal Dysphagia from a Tertiary Care Clinic. Dysphagia 33, 457–467 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-018-9874-y

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