Swallowing function
Airway-protective swallow reflex
Also searched as Airway-protective swallow reflex.
It becomes visible only when it falters. A slower, less certain swallow is one of the quieter risks of aging.
In depth
The coordinated reflex that moves a swallow safely past the airway — measured on clinical swallowing scores.
What it drives
It increases Supports weight management.
Pooling 39 studies and 31,488 adults aged 60 and over, impaired swallowing (oropharyngeal dysphagia) more than doubled the odds of malnutrition (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.43-3.41), so intact swallowing function is what sustains nutritional intake and body mass. doi 10.1159/000520326 · PMID 34903688
Blends that modulate it
Each blend page names this pathway and carries the study behind its claim.
See it on the map
Open the causal map to follow this pathway upstream and downstream, arrow by arrow, each with its study.