Frequency of Conversation, Laughter and Other Vocalising Opportunities in Daily Life and Maximum Tongue Pressure: The Goto Longevity Study

BACKGROUND: Staying active in daily life is believed to help maintain individuals' oral motor function and prevent oral frailty, a potential risk factor for general health. However, there is limited epidemiological evidence of this association. This study focused on vocalising frequency as an indicator of activeness in daily life. METHODS: We conducted a home-visit survey targeting residents aged ≥ 65 years in a rural community in the Goto Islands, Japan. Among 563 participants, those with missing data for the main outcome or vocalising (n = 84) were excluded. Tongue pressure was measured thrice; we used maximum tongue pressure as a marker of tongue motor function. Frequency of conversation, laughter and other vocalising opportunities (e.g., singing or Buddhist chanting) was measured. The multivariate-adjusted regression models were used to calculate parameter estimates (B) for tongue pressure according to the frequency of vocalisation. RESULTS: Among the 479 participants, the proportion of individuals who answered 'every day' was 77% for conversation, 48% for laughter and 47% for other vocalising opportunities. Participants engaging every day in other vocalising opportunities recorded higher maximum tongue pressure (B = 2.26; p = 0.03) than those who did not at all. Sex did not affect this association (p interaction = 0.72). Conversation and laughter every day overlapped with the everyday category of other vocalising opportunities, but they were not associated with tongue pressure. CONCLUSION: Engaging every day in vocalising opportunities other than conversation or laughter was independently associated with a higher maximum tongue pressure in older adults than those who vocalised less often.