Association between the number of teeth and frailty among Chinese older adults: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo explore the association between the number of teeth and frailty among older Chinese adults using a nationally representative sample.DesignCross-sectional analysis was carried out using the 2014 wave data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, which used a targeted random-sampling design.SettingThis research was conducted in communities from nearly half of the counties and cities in 22 out of 31 provinces throughout China.ParticipantsOf the 6934 interviewees aged ≥65 years, the final analysis included 3635 older adults who had completed the 2014 wave survey on the variables included in the study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresOutcome variables included frailty, measured by the Frailty Index, and number of teeth. Covariates included demographic characteristics (ie, age, sex, co-residence, marital status, years of education and financial support), body mass index (BMI) and health behaviours (ie, smoking, drinking and exercise). A univariate logistic regression was used to test the factors associated with frailty. A multiple logistic regression model was used, using the frailty score as the dependent variable and the number of teeth together with significant covariates as the independent variables.ResultsThe prevalence of frailty was 27.68%. The mean number of teeth present was 9.23 (SD=10.03). The multiple logistic regression showed that older adults’ demographic variables, health behaviours, BMI, tooth number and chewing pain were significantly associated with frailty. After adjusting for the covariates, older adults with fewer teeth had significantly higher odds of frailty than those with 20 or more teeth (no teeth: OR=2.07, 95% CI 1.53 to 2.80; 1 to 10 teeth: OR=1.77, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.38), except for older adults with 11 to 20 teeth (OR=1.30, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.82).ConclusionsThe presence of fewer teeth is significantly associated with frailty status among older Chinese adults. Future studies are needed to explain the specific mechanisms underlying how oral health status is associated with frailty.

Self‐rated oral health and frailty index among older Americans

“…19 To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the association between self-rated oral health and frailty index among older adults using a national representative sample. Previous studies that assessed the association between oral health and frailty index used a self-reported number of teeth, 21 and the count of self-reported oral health problems. 22 Both studies found significant associations with frailty index.…”

Head Posture and Postural Balance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Who Use Dentures

“…Therefore, the authors suggested that the use of dentures may reduce the masticatory efficiency, resulting in weakening of the flexor muscles of the neck, further leading to FHP. There is a disagreement in the previous reports on the correlation between denture use on musculoskeletal fragility [ 36 , 37 ]; hence, authors suggest that further research on this is needed in the future.…”

“…In addition, the average number of functional teeth was 26.05 for the non-denture use group and 9.67 for the denture use group. Zhang et al [ 36 ] suggested that denture-users with ≤20 teeth also showed higher odds of being frail compared to those with >20 teeth. These results suggest that dentures are less efficient than natural teeth [ 36 ].…”

“…Zhang et al [ 36 ] suggested that denture-users with ≤20 teeth also showed higher odds of being frail compared to those with >20 teeth. These results suggest that dentures are less efficient than natural teeth [ 36 ]. Therefore, the authors suggested that the use of dentures may reduce the masticatory efficiency, resulting in weakening of the flexor muscles of the neck, further leading to FHP.…”

“…Our findings showed that the denture use can increase the TUG and AP COP displacement, and that the duration of denture use is related to TUG. In a previous study, denture use was shown to be effective in maintaining and improving the balance in older adults [ 13 , 14 , 36 ]. These studies showed that denture use confirmed the immediate change in postural sway and body balance, and report that denture use improved body balance.…”