Rehabilitation of swallowing disorders in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study on efficacy and feasibility
Neslihan Altuntaş Yılmaz1
, Adem Aydın2, Muzaffer Şeker3, Ayşe Merve Tat1, Gökmen Yapali1
1Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Necmettin Erbakan University, Nezahat Keleşoğlu Faculty of Health Sciences, Konya, Türkiye
2Department of Psychiatry, Necmettin Erbakan University, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye
3Department of Anatomy, Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye
Keywords: Deglutition, dysphagia, hypersalivation, schizophrenia, rehabilitation.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of swallowing disorder rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia experiencing dysphagia and hypersalivation.
Patients and methods: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used. Forty-seven patients with schizophrenia with dysphagia were screened between April 2018 and January 2020. After exclusions due to noncompliance, seven patients (4 males, 3 females; mean age: 44.28 ± 21.81 years; range, 19 to 79 years) completed the study. Swallowing was assessed with the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10), salivary issues with the Saliva Control Severity and Frequency Scale, and mouth opening with trismus measurement before and after a 12-session rehabilitation program (3 sessions a week). The program included chewing training, oral motor exercises, laryngeal mobilization, thermal tactile stimulation, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.
Results: After treatment, EAT-10, saliva severity, saliva frequency, and trismus scores significantly improved compared to baseline (p < 0.05). Disease history, education, and physical activity did not affect outcomes (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Swallowing disorder rehabilitation effectively improves swallowing and saliva control in dysphagic patients with schizophrenia.
Cite this article as: Altuntaş Yılmaz N, Aydın A, Şeker M, Tat AM, Yapali G. Rehabilitation of swallowing disorders in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study on efficacy and feasibility. Turk J Neurol 2026;32(2):180-186. https://doi.org/10.55697/tnd.2026.542.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
N.A.Y.: Conceptualization, data curation, writing, original draft, writing, review & editing; A.A.: Conceptualization, data curation; M.S.: Original draft, writing, review & editing; A.M.T.: Original draft, writing, review & editing; G.Y.: Original draft, writing.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/ or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.