Prevalence of Swallowing-Related Fatigue and Its Association With Self-Perceived Swallowing Impairments Across Phases of Stroke, Site of Lesion, and Stroke Severity.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Prevalence of Swallowing-Related Fatigue and Its Association With Self-Perceived Swallowing Impairments Across Phases of Stroke, Site of Lesion, and Stroke Severity.
Authors: Chilwan, Uzair1, Kumar, K. Vijaya2, Karuppali, Sudhin3, Aithal, Venkataraja U.4, Balasubramanium, Radish Kumar1 radheesh.slp@manipal.edu
Source: American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. May2026, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p1242-1251. 10p.
Subject Terms: *Data analysis, *Fatigue (Physiology), Cross-sectional method, NIH Stroke Scale, Receiver operating characteristic curves, Research funding, Kruskal-Wallis Test, Logistic regression analysis, Severity of illness index, Tertiary care, Chi-squared test, Judgment sampling, Descriptive statistics, Statistics, Stroke, Stroke patients, Deglutition disorders
Abstract: Purpose: This study examined the prevalence of swallowing-related fatigue in individuals with stroke and its association with self-perceived swallowing difficulties. It also explored differences across stroke phases, lesion sites, and severity levels, and examined the association between the Swallowing and Eating-Related Fatigue Scale (SERF) scores and self-reported dysphagia risk (Eating Assessment Tool [EAT-10], Dysphagia Handicap Index [DHI]). Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 170 poststroke adults (120 men, 50 women) recruited at a tertiary care hospital. Participants were categorized into early subacute, late subacute, and chronic phases. Stroke severity was measured using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, and lesion site was determined from radiological reports. Swallowing fatigue was assessed using the SERF scale, general fatigue with the Fatigue Severity Scale, and selfreported swallowing difficulties with the EAT-10 and DHI. Analyses included chi-square test, Spearman correlations, Kruskal-Wallis with post hoc comparisons, and logistic regression. Results: Swallowing-related fatigue was most prevalent in the early subacute phase (92%), among individuals with brainstem lesions (84%), and in those with greater stroke severity (72.7%). SERF scores strongly correlated with EAT-10 and DHI, indicating an association with both functional swallowing impairments and psychosocial handicap. Logistic regression identified stroke phase as a significant predictor, with lower prevalence in later phases. Conclusions: Swallowing-related fatigue emerges as a notable and unique complication of stroke, especially prominent in early recovery and among individuals with brainstem involvement. Incorporating the SERF scale into routine assessment may enable early identification of patients at risk of reduced mealtime endurance and guide targeted rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 193560223
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Prevalence of Swallowing-Related Fatigue and Its Association With Self-Perceived Swallowing Impairments Across Phases of Stroke, Site of Lesion, and Stroke Severity.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chilwan%2C+Uzair%22">Chilwan, Uzair</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kumar%2C+K%2E+Vijaya%22">Kumar, K. Vijaya</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Karuppali%2C+Sudhin%22">Karuppali, Sudhin</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Aithal%2C+Venkataraja+U%2E%22">Aithal, Venkataraja U.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Balasubramanium%2C+Radish+Kumar%22">Balasubramanium, Radish Kumar</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> radheesh.slp@manipal.edu</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22American+Journal+of+Speech-Language+Pathology%22">American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p1242-1251. 10p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis%22">Data analysis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fatigue+%28Physiology%29%22">Fatigue (Physiology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cross-sectional+method%22">Cross-sectional method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22NIH+Stroke+Scale%22">NIH Stroke Scale</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Receiver+operating+characteristic+curves%22">Receiver operating characteristic curves</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kruskal-Wallis+Test%22">Kruskal-Wallis Test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Logistic+regression+analysis%22">Logistic regression analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Severity+of+illness+index%22">Severity of illness index</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tertiary+care%22">Tertiary care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chi-squared+test%22">Chi-squared test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Judgment+sampling%22">Judgment sampling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stroke%22">Stroke</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stroke+patients%22">Stroke patients</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Deglutition+disorders%22">Deglutition disorders</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: This study examined the prevalence of swallowing-related fatigue in individuals with stroke and its association with self-perceived swallowing difficulties. It also explored differences across stroke phases, lesion sites, and severity levels, and examined the association between the Swallowing and Eating-Related Fatigue Scale (SERF) scores and self-reported dysphagia risk (Eating Assessment Tool [EAT-10], Dysphagia Handicap Index [DHI]). Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 170 poststroke adults (120 men, 50 women) recruited at a tertiary care hospital. Participants were categorized into early subacute, late subacute, and chronic phases. Stroke severity was measured using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, and lesion site was determined from radiological reports. Swallowing fatigue was assessed using the SERF scale, general fatigue with the Fatigue Severity Scale, and selfreported swallowing difficulties with the EAT-10 and DHI. Analyses included chi-square test, Spearman correlations, Kruskal-Wallis with post hoc comparisons, and logistic regression. Results: Swallowing-related fatigue was most prevalent in the early subacute phase (92%), among individuals with brainstem lesions (84%), and in those with greater stroke severity (72.7%). SERF scores strongly correlated with EAT-10 and DHI, indicating an association with both functional swallowing impairments and psychosocial handicap. Logistic regression identified stroke phase as a significant predictor, with lower prevalence in later phases. Conclusions: Swallowing-related fatigue emerges as a notable and unique complication of stroke, especially prominent in early recovery and among individuals with brainstem involvement. Incorporating the SERF scale into routine assessment may enable early identification of patients at risk of reduced mealtime endurance and guide targeted rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=193560223
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2026_AJSLP-25-00362
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 1242
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fatigue (Physiology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cross-sectional method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: NIH Stroke Scale
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Receiver operating characteristic curves
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Kruskal-Wallis Test
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Logistic regression analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Severity of illness index
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tertiary care
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Chi-squared test
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Judgment sampling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stroke
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stroke patients
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Deglutition disorders
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Prevalence of Swallowing-Related Fatigue and Its Association With Self-Perceived Swallowing Impairments Across Phases of Stroke, Site of Lesion, and Stroke Severity.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Chilwan, Uzair
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kumar, K. Vijaya
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Karuppali, Sudhin
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Aithal, Venkataraja U.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Balasubramanium, Radish Kumar
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 10580360
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 35
            – Type: issue
              Value: 3
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
              Type: main
ResultId 1