ABSTRACT
This chapter is divided into sections. It explores general potential age-related changes to the eating, drinking and swallowing process, and the impact of these. The chapter provides more detail about the phases of the swallow in healthy adults and the comparison with healthy older adults to reflect what are thought to be normal age-related changes to each phase. It discusses what would be considered to be atypical features of an older person’s swallowing, the effect of overall loss of reserve on the swallowing mechanism and disease-related dysphagia, and also the implications of swallowing impairment in older age. Lifestyle changes in older age are linked with changes to eating and drinking habits. The oesophageal phase of swallowing commences at the level of the upper oesophageal sphincter as it opens to allow the bolus to pass into the oesophagus.
