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Dysphagia

DOI 10.1007/s00455-017-9802-6

REVIEW ARTICLE

Swallowing Disorders in Schizophrenia


Deepika P. Kulkarni1 • Vandan D. Kamath2 • Jonathan T. Stewart1,3

Received: 2 November 2016 / Accepted: 17 April 2017


Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York (outside the USA) 2017

Abstract Disorders of swallowing are poorly character- Keywords Deglutition  Deglutition disorders 
ized but quite common in schizophrenia. They are a source Swallowing  Dysphagia  Airway obstruction  Aspiration 
of considerable morbidity and mortality in this population, Schizophrenia  Antipsychotics
generally as a result of either acute asphyxia from airway
obstruction or more insidious aspiration and pneumonia.
The death rate from acute asphyxia may be as high as one Introduction
hundred times that of the general population. Most swal-
lowing disorders in schizophrenia seem to fall into one of Schizophrenia is a common serious psychiatric illness
two categories, changes in eating and swallowing due to associated with recurrent or chronic psychotic symptoms,
the illness itself and changes related to psychotropic affecting about 0.7% of the population [1]. It is a highly
medications. Behavioral changes related to the illness are disabling and economically burdensome illness.
poorly understood and often involve eating too quickly or Schizophrenia is characterized by positive symptoms
taking inappropriately large boluses of food. Iatrogenic (things that should not normally be present, including
problems are mostly related to drug-induced extrapyrami- hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thought, and
dal side effects, including drug-induced parkinsonism, speech), negative symptoms (a lack of things that should
dystonia, and tardive dyskinesia, but may also include normally be present, including social withdrawal, avolition,
xerostomia, sialorrhea, and changes related to sedation. apathy, flat affect), and cognitive (mostly executive and
This paper will provide an overview of common swal- attentional deficits) symptoms [1], but both the illness and
lowing problems encountered in patients with schizophre- its treatment may be associated with a variety of other
nia, their pathophysiology, and management. While there is medical problems. Disorders of deglutition appear to be
a scarcity of quality evidence in the literature, a thorough common and potentially serious in schizophrenia but have
history and examination will generally elucidate the pre- not been extensively studied or characterized. For example,
dominant problem or problems, often leading to effective Regan et al. [2] found a prevalence of dysphagia of 23% in
management strategies. a group of patients with schizophrenia in hospital settings.
Corcoran and Walsh [3] reported a death rate due to
asphyxia (presumably most of this related to choking on
food) of 85/100,000 in psychiatric inpatients in Ireland, a
& Jonathan T. Stewart rate over one hundred times that of the general population.
jonathan.stewart1@va.gov
More recently, Wu et al. [4] reported an odds ratio of
1
University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, 7.92–12.80 (95% CI) for food-related choking death in
USA schizophrenia as compared to the general population.
2
Audiology and Speech Pathology Service (126), James A These problems are far more prominent in schizophrenia
Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, USA than in other serious mental illnesses [2, 4–7]. Mortality
3
Psychiatry Service (116A), James A Haley VA Hospital, and morbidity are generally related to either acute asphyxia
13000 Bruce B Downs BLVD, Tampa, FL 33612, USA from airway obstruction, or more insidious aspiration

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D. P. Kulkarni et al.: Swallowing in Schizophrenia

pneumonia. This paper will provide an overview of com- noted pathophysiologic similarities to patients with
mon swallowing problems in schizophrenia, their patho- Parkinson’s disease. As in the case of Parkinson’s disease,
physiology, and management. drug-induced parkinsonism may cause poor lingual
Most swallowing disorders in schizophrenia seem to fall movement, slowed and disorganized oral bolus formation,
into one of two categories, problems related to the illness poor bolus control, and slowed bolus transport during the
itself and problems related to treatment [8–10]. Problems oral phase; of note, these changes in oral phase may lead to
related to treatment are better studied and are mostly premature posterior loss of fluid [16, 17]. Changes in the
related to extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) associated with pharyngeal phase of swallow are perhaps more predictive
antipsychotic medications, although other, non-neurologic of aspiration or asphyxia, and include delayed, slow, and
adverse effects such as xerostomia or sialorrhea may also incomplete laryngeal elevation, poor pharyngeal peristal-
be significant. Behavioral problems, felt to be inherent to sis, poor glottic protection, and pooling in the piriform
schizophrenia, consist mostly of a variety of poorly char- sinuses with subsequent penetration and aspiration [16, 17].
acterized and poorly studied eating behaviors, such as The esophageal phase is generally believed to be unaf-
eating too quickly or taking excessively large boluses of fected, although this has not been systematically studied.
food. Several authors believe that these behavioral prob- There are numerous reports of dysphagia related to drug-
lems are a greater source of morbidity than the drug-related induced parkinsonism, with both first- and second-genera-
problems [11, 12]. Common drug-induced and behavioral tion agents [8–10, 16–24]. Treatment of drug-induced
problems are listed in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. It parkinsonism will usually involve either switching to an
should be noted that reports of prevalence generally do not antipsychotic with less extensive dopamine blockade (ei-
distinguish between these two categories nor between ther from a first-generation to a second-generation agent, or
subcategories of iatrogenic or behavioral problems, and to another agent within class) or treatment with either an
that the prevalence figures quoted above reflect this. anticholinergic agent (such as benztropine or tri-
hexyphenidyl) or amantadine. To date, there have been a
few reports of improved dysphagia upon switching
Drug-Induced Swallowing Disorders antipsychotics [10, 21, 22] or adding an anticholinergic
agent [18] or amantadine [10]. There is also a single report
Antipsychotic drugs remain the cornerstone of treatment of of successful use of the Mendelsohn maneuver [25] (i.e.,
schizophrenia. Most of these drugs block central dopamine volitional prolongation of laryngeal elevation), although
receptors; this blockade is much more extensive with the the patient was treated with clozapine, which is unlikely to
older, ‘‘first-generation’’ or ‘‘typical’’ antipsychotics, but is cause serious drug-induced parkinsonism. There is no lit-
also seen with most of the newer, ‘‘second-generation’’ or erature regarding feeding or dietary modifications for drug-
‘‘atypical’’ agents [13]. Concerns about implications for induced parkinsonism, but modifications as for Parkinson’s
swallowing and choking date back to 1957 [14], four years disease (chin tuck, smaller bites, thickened liquids, etc.) are
after chlorpromazine (the first modern antipsychotic) was probably appropriate if the problem cannot be fully
released in the United States, and a dose-related association addressed with changes in the psychotropic drug regimen.
between antipsychotics and dysphagia is well-established A dystonic reaction is an acute muscle spasm, often
[15]. Probably the most important implication for swal- affecting the head and neck, that may occur during treat-
lowing is that blockade of dopamine receptors in the ment with antipsychotics. Dystonic reactions are some-
nigrostriatal tract often leads to drug-induced parkinson- times seen with first-generation antipsychotics and are
ism. Drug-induced parkinsonism may present with any or fairly rare with the newer second-generation agents; they
all the typical signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, are often seen in younger patients, often during the first few
including bulbar symptoms; indeed, Bazemore et al. [8] days of treatment. While dystonic reactions are usually

Table 1 Common drug-induced swallowing disorders in schizophrenia


Problem Common causative agents

Drug-induced parkinsonism Antipsychotics, first generation [ second generation


Dystonic reaction High-potency first generation antipsychotics
Tardive dyskinesia Antipsychotics (chronic use)
Xerostomia Anticholinergic agents (numerous)
Sialorrhea Clozapine
Sedation, inhibited gag Benzodiazepines, sedative agents

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D. P. Kulkarni et al.: Swallowing in Schizophrenia

Table 2 Common behavioral swallowing disorders inherent to several other problems may be seen. Many antipsychotics
schizophrenia have strong anticholinergic effects, and xerostomia is a
Fast eating (tachyphagia) common complaint. Severe xerostomia may cause diffi-
Inappropriately large bolus culty with bolus formation and with oral and pharyngeal
Inadequate chewing, swallowing unmasticated bolus transit [38]. If the medication regimen cannot be changed,
Ingesting non-food items moister foods can be emphasized; some patients will ben-
Pocketing food efit from tart candies (to stimulate saliva production) or
saliva substitutes. Importantly, anticholinergic medications
may also inhibit esophageal peristalsis [39]. Paradoxically,
fairly dramatic and distressing, several authors [23, 26–28] the most anticholinergic antipsychotic, clozapine, is also a
have reported dysphagia related to dystonias limited to the selective M4 muscarinic receptor agonist and frequently
jaw, tongue, and pharynx; pharyngeal constrictor palsy, causes sialorrhea [8, 40]. This can be a source of aspiration
poor palatal elevation, loss of gag reflex, and severe in some patients. Clozapine is typically used in patients
oropharyngeal hypomotility have all been reported. Nair who have failed to respond to any other treatment for
et al. [29] also reported an unusual presentation of a pos- schizophrenia, so it will rarely be feasible to substitute a
sible dystonic reaction, uvular swelling that mimicked an different medication. If sialorrhea is severely problematic,
allergic reaction to risperidone but resolved promptly with the use of anticholinergic agents (glycopyrrolate, others) or
benztropine; the authors hypothesized that palatal and intraparotid botulinum toxin may be of help [41]. Some
periuvular dystonia inhibited venous drainage. Dystonic patients with schizophrenia are treated with benzodi-
reactions are urgent situations; treatment is generally with azepines and other sedating agents, these can inhibit the
parenteral anticholinergics followed by switching to a drug gag reflex [42], increasing choking and aspiration risk.
with less potent dopamine blockade. It should be men- Also, Buchholz [38] reported diffuse pharyngeal paralysis
tioned that a dystonic reaction may rarely manifest as and aspiration in two patients treated with benzodiazepines,
laryngospasm; this is a medical emergency that often and Wyllie et al. [43] reported two children with benzo-
necessitates endotracheal intubation [30]. diazepine-induced delayed cricopharyngeal relaxation
Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a chronic and often irre- leading to spillover into the airway; both authors felt that
versible form of EPS that generally occurs after years or this was probably mediated at the brainstem level. Finally,
decades of antipsychotic exposure. It presents with most medications can potentially cause allergic reactions
choreoathetoid movements that mostly affect the face, jaw, and angioedema, affecting swallow [44].
and tongue. While the pathophysiology of TD remains
unclear, the predominant view is that it represents a den-
ervation supersensitivity of nigrostriatal dopamine recep- Swallowing Disorders Inherent to Schizophrenia
tors after years of pharmacologic blockade. There have
been reports of dysphagia related to TD, mostly related to Abnormal eating and swallowing habits may be a greater
choreiform movements and loss of coordination of the factor in aspiration, choking, and asphyxia than drug-in-
tongue and muscles of mastication but also to dyskinetic duced EPS and other adverse drug effects [11, 12]. These
movements of the pharynx and even the upper esophageal problems have been reported in schizophrenia for at least
sphincter [12, 18, 31–34]. Delayed swallow reflex and poor sixty years and well before antipsychotics were in common
laryngeal elevation and closure have also been reported use, although this literature is mostly limited to anecdotes
[18, 32, 33]. In severe cases, the diaphragm may be and case reports, many dating back to the 1950s and 1960s
involved, leading to respiratory incoordination and further [5, 9, 45, 46]. While there are no systematic studies, these
disrupting coordination of swallow [35, 36]. Treatment of problems seem more common in more severely ill and
TD is disappointing and far less effective than prevention. institutionalized patients [2, 9]. Arieti [45] mentions
Discontinuation of the antipsychotic if possible, or perhaps ‘‘tachyphagia’’ as well as a number of other behavioral
switching to a second-generation agent, is the first line of changes in his 1955 textbook, ‘‘Interpretation of
treatment and will often result in improvement or resolu- Schizophrenia,’’ and indeed, tachyphagia, or fast eating, is
tion of the TD within three months or so. If TD proves to the most frequently mentioned and probably the most fre-
be irreversible, modest improvements have been reported quently encountered behavioral abnormality. Some authors
with tetrabenazine. There is little literature about dietary have attributed this to institutional factors such as limited
modification in TD; Sheppard [37] has advocated thick- time allowed for meals [8, 9], but this seems unlikely.
ening liquids and encouraging a slower eating pace. Perhaps more dangerously, numerous authors have
While most iatrogenic swallowing disorders in described patients with schizophrenia taking inappropri-
schizophrenia are related to antipsychotic-induced EPS, ately large boluses of food, and this has been noted in many

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D. P. Kulkarni et al.: Swallowing in Schizophrenia

of our patients over the years, often requiring a Heimlich understanding of these problems is very limited, and there
maneuver and sometimes with fatal outcome [5, 45]. is a clear need for further research. An important unex-
Indeed such large and often unmasticated boluses in the plored area is the role of medications (including the
pharynx or trachea have been reported in autopsies of switching of antipsychotics) and of focused dysphagia
patients who have died of acute asphyxia. Other authors therapies in mitigating drug-induced swallowing disorders.
have also reported poor chewing, swallowing of unmasti- Our knowledge of the range of swallowing problems
cated food or of non-food items, or pocketing of food in the inherent to schizophrenia is even more limited; there is a
mouth [2, 5, 45, 46]. Some authors have mentioned poor pressing need to better characterize these problems and
attention or distraction during meals as a contributory their frequency, to identify those patients at highest risk, to
factor [2]. Finally, Keith [47] reported on a cohort of 25 explore their pathophysiology, to determine to what extent
subjects with schizophrenia, observing an immature swal- they respond to more aggressive treatment of the under-
lowing pattern with the tongue moving forward and the lips lying schizophrenia, and especially to identify best man-
puckering. The author suggested that these changes might agement and rehabilitation practices. Even without these
represent inherent changes in swallowing physiology in advances in our knowledge, though, a thorough focused
schizophrenia. The author acknowledged, though, that the history and examination can generally identify the major
noted changes may alternatively have been a subtle man- problem or problems in any given patient, often yielding
ifestation of TD; unfortunately, the extent and duration of effective management strategies.
his subjects’ antipsychotic exposure is not reported.
To date, there has been no systematic study of these Author’s Contribution All of the authors contributed to the con-
ceptualization of this work, literature review, manuscript preparation
behavioral aspects of deglutition in schizophrenia. We have and final approval.
found these problems to occur more intermittently than
chronically, making risk assessment especially difficult. Funding There was no sponsorship of this work, and no source of
Treatment is unclear; to date, there is no data regarding to funding.
what extent, if any, these behavioral problems respond to
Compliance with Ethical Standards
treatment of the underlying schizophrenia. A comprehensive
multidisciplinary approach seems most effective; Apple- Conflict of interest None of the authors have any actual or potential
baum et al. [11] reported a 75% reduction in choking inci- financial, personal or other conflict of interest pertinent to this work.
dents in their state hospital program. Important elements
included staff education and mealtime supervision, dietary
modification and patient training by the speech pathologist. References
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