The Prevalence of Dysphagia in Primary Care Patients: A HamesNet Research Network Study

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Descriptors of Patients with Clinically Significant Dysphagia (a Minimum of Several Times Per Month) and without Dysphagia (n = 947)*

	Total n (%)	No. Patients with Dysphagia (%)^†	No. Patients without Dysphagia (%)^†
Patients with dysphagia	214 (22.6)
Patients without dysphagia	733 (77.4)
Age (mean ± SD)		48.1 (14.4)^‡	45.7 (16.6)
Gender
Male		41 (19.2)^§	213 (29.1)
Female		173 (80.8)^§	519 (70.1)
Ethnicity
Hispanic		4 (2.1)	23 (3.6)
Non-Hispanic		183 (97.9)	624 (96.4)
Race
African American		90 (43.1)	281 (39.2)
White		115 (55.0)	426 (59.3)
Other		4 (1.9)	11 (1.5)
Frequency of dysphagia
Several times per month	106 (49.5)
Several times per week	68 (31.8)
Several times per day	40 (18.7)
Duration
<1 year	56 (26.8)
1 to 5 years	99 (47.4)
5 or more years	54 (25.8)
Consistency of food associated with dysphagia
Solids only	101 (49.0)
Liquids only	13 (6.3)
Both solids and liquids	92 (44.7)
Patients with dysphagia who do not take medication for their symptoms	126 (60.6)
Patients with dysphagia who have not had a diagnostic test for their symptoms	136 (65.1)
Concerned about dysphagia	136 (63.6)

* Numbers do not include missing data.
† Percentages are within demographic group. For example, 19.2% of male patients reported dysphagia.
‡ Patients with dysphagia were significantly older than patients without dysphagia (P = .001).
§ Gender difference in dysphagia is significant (P = .002).

Table 2.

Behavioral and Psychological Impact of Dysphagia*

Impact	No. Who Have Talked with Physician about Dysphagia (%)^†	No. Who Have Not Talked with Physician about Dysphagia (%)	P
Concerned about dysphagia	86 (63.2)	50 (36.8)	<.0005
Dysphagia affects eating out or eating with other people	74 (67.9)	35 (32.1)	<.0005
Avoids certain foods	38 (71.7)	15 (28.3)	.001
Takes smaller bites	51 (60.0)	34 (40.0)	.058
Washes down food with liquids	51 (56.7)	39 (43.3)	.207
No medications for dysphagia symptoms	45 (35.7)	81 (64.3)	<.0005
No diagnostic tests for dysphagia symptoms	65 (89.0)	8 (11.0)	<.0005

* Data presented on χ² analysis of patients with dysphagia only (n = 214), missing data not included.
† Percentages are within group. For example, 63.2% patients who were concerned about their dysphagia spoke with their doctor about their symptoms.