Abstract
Background/Objectives: The predominant etiology of healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) that frequently manifests in elderly with advanced dementia is aspiration pneumonia in which the deteriorated upper respiratory protective reflexes are significant responsible triggers. However, the association of HCAP with cerebral degeneration has not been investigated. Therefore, a cross-sectional and retrospective cohort study was conducted to elucidate the association of aspiration pneumonia-related factors with HCAP in elderly with dementia. Methods: Of the 154 participants (87.9 years), 30 of Alzheimer's type dementia (AD) or 124 of vascular dementia (VaD) were assigned to the pneumonia group or the control group. Participant's characteristics, including cognition, clinical pattern and stage of dementia, physical and eating abilities, latency of the swallowing reflex (LTSR), threshold of CRS, and tongue moisture (TOM), were evaluated. Result: The progression of dementia and the decline in LTSR, CRS, and TOM were synchronized (p < 0.05). Participants in the pneumonia group who were male, with eating difficulties, prolonged LTSR, lacunar infarction, or a smoking history, were significantly observed. The multiple logistic analysis indicated that the LTSR was a significant independent factor for developing HCAP (p = 0.01). Furthermore, as the possessed number of aspiration pneumonia-related factors increased, the odds ratio for HCAP became significantly higher (p < 0.001). Blunted CRS, male gender, and lacunar infarctions were evident in VaD participants but not in AD participants. Finally, the incidence of HCAP in VaD was 2.11 times higher than that in AD (p = 0.005). Conclusions: The higher incidence of HCAP in VaD than AD may be due to different underlying pathophysiological mechanisms between them.