Effect of age on tongue strength and endurance scores of healthy Portuguese speakers

In order to diagnose abnormality in tongue strength and endurance and to obtain more precise rehabilitation planning, the aims of this study were to examine typical tongue strength and endurance of 75 healthy Portuguese speakers. The tongue strength and endurance scores were obtained using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI Model 2.0). The participants ranged in age from 20 to 77 years of age. To assess whether there were differences across age and gender, the participants were divided into three age categories (20-40; 41-60; 61-80) and both genders to establish a total of 6 groups. The results revealed that there were no significant differences across age and gender and that the healthy speakers of Portuguese were able to maintain 50% maximum pressure for a shorter period of time than those documented in English speakers. The data collected will provide an important database for speech-language pathologists with the purpose of diagnosis of tongue dysfunction.