Surface electromyography for diagnosing dysphagia in patients with cerebral palsy

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of participants in the oropharyngeal dysphagia and control groups n (%)

Characteristic	OPD group1(n = 20)	Control group2(n = 60)	P value
Sex
Male	14 (70.0)	42 (70.0)	1.0003
Female	6 (30.0)	18 (30.0)
Age (yr)	14.5 ± 6.2	14.5 ± 6.1	0.9984
Height (cm)	128.1 ± 19.2	153.4 ± 20.1	< 0.0014
Weight (kg)	25.4 ± 12.7	47.7 ± 17.6	< 0.0014
BMI (kg/m2)	14.6 ± 3.4	19.5 ± 3.5	< 0.0014
DOSS6
Level 1	8 (42.1)	0 (0.0)	< 0.0015
Level 2	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
Level 3	1 (5.3)	0 (0.0)
Level 4	4 (21.1)	0 (0.0)
Level 5	3 (15.8)	0 (0.0)
Level 6	3 (15.8)	0 (0.0)
Level 7	0 (0.0)	60 (100.0)

Data are presented as mean ± SD.

¹Participants in the dysphagia group had cerebral palsy;

²Participants in the control group did not have cerebral palsy and were healthy;

³Determined by χ² test;

⁴Determined by independent samples t-test;

⁵Determined by Fisher’s exact test;

⁶Dysphagia outcome and severity scale (DOSS) score was missing for one oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD) patient. BMI: Body mass index. Level 7 = normal; Level 6 = within functional limits; Level 5 = mild dysphagia; Level 4 = mild to moderate dysphagia; Level 3 = moderate dysphagia; Level 2 = moderate to severe dysphagia; Level 1 = severe dysphagia.