뇌성마비 아동의 대·소근육운동기능 및 비구어기제기능이 섭식-삼킴기능에 미치는 영향

Abstract

Background & Objectives: The incidence and prevalence rates of feeding-swallowing disorders among children with cerebral palsy(CP) are high. These disorders can be detrimental threat to nutritional status, physical growth, and furthermore, life expectancy for children with CP. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether gross motor function, fine motor function, and/or non-speech mechanism affect feeding-swallowing disorders in children with CP. Methods: Thirty children with CP participated in this study. Gross motor function, fine motor function, non-speech mechanism, and feeding-swallowing functions were examined via direct assessment of children and caregiver questionnaires. Results: Gross and fine motor functions were identified. The mean scores and standard deviations of non-speech mechanism and feeding function were reported. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that 79.1% or 77.9% of the total variance in the feeding- swallowing function was explained by the non-speech mechanism function(p <0.001). Discussion & Conclusion: The results of this study support the notion that therapeutic intervention in the non-speech mechanism could improve feeding-swallowing function in children with CP. We speculate that more precise coordination might be required in feeding-swallowing than in non-speech tasks. Further study is needed to uncover the coordination systems involved in feeding-swallowing as well as non-speech mechanism functions