The Association of Dietary Intake, Oral Health, and Blood Pressure in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Abstract

Hypertension is related to impaired mastication that causes malnutrition, declining the general health of older adults. This study assessed the role of dietary intake in the relationship between oral health and blood pressure. Eight hundred ninety-four adults aged ≥65 years who independently lived in rural regions of Japan participated in this study. Hypertension was classified according to the guidelines of the Japanese Society of Hypertension. The oral condition was evaluated by analyzing the remaining teeth, occlusal force, posterior occlusal support, masticatory performance, oral moisture, and oral bacterial level. Dietary intake was assessed using a brief self-administered dietary history questionnaire. Mann-Whitney U, chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and logistic regression analyses were used to elucidate the factors related to hypertension. Normotensive, hypertensive, and history of hypertension were observed in 30.9%, 23.8%, and 45.3% of the participants, respectively. The factors significantly associated with the hypertension were age, body mass index, posterior occlusal support condition, and sodium-to-potassium ratio related to salt intake and/or vegetable intake. Participants without posterior occlusion significantly had higher risk of hypertension (odds ratio = 1.72). This study suggested that there was an association between oral health and hypertension, while the loss of occlusal support may influence nutritional intake conditions.

Food Bolus Properties in Relation to Dentate and Prosthetic Status

“…When analyzing the relationship between particle size distribution and the insalivation of food bolus, it was observed that when comminution resulted in a higher proportion of particles with a bigger size, as in removable prostheses wearers, a better insalivation of food bolus was observed; in other words, moister content was increased, this probably being a factor that contributes to making food suitable for deglutition and digestion. Considering the previous, removable denture wearers with rather frequently altered salivary flow may exhibit even greater difficulties in chewing and present a higher risk of digestive problems in general (swallowing food particles of increased size that are insufficiently insalivated may be linked to increased gastric and intestinal motility and, respectively, to the increased amount of secreted gastric acid) [ 20 ]. In these patients, the prosthetic alternatives that favor food fragmentation in smaller pieces, which might require less insalivation of food bolus, may be more recommended.…”

Association between Oral Health and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Dietary Diversity

“…DD refers to the consumption of different food group quantities over a given period of time, and it is assessed using the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), which is a concise and efficient indicator of dietary quality [ 16 ]. Poor oral health in older adults will lead to an increase in the variety of unchewable foods [ 17 ], which affects the balanced absorption of nutrients [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Several studies have shown a negative association between DDS and depressive symptoms in older adults [ 20 , 21 , 22 ], and monotonous and unhealthy dietary patterns are directly associated with an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms [ 20 ].…”

Relationship between self-reported chewing ability and incidents of stroke in Japanese community-dwelling older adults

“…Thus, chewing ability may re ect overall oral health and is in uenced negatively by periodontal disease, tooth loss, dental caries, and wearing dentures. Some studies showed the relationships between chewing ability and adverse outcomes, such as quality of life [11], cognitive impairment [12], diabetes [13], hypertension [14], and CVD [15]. A previous observational study investigating the association between chewing ability and CVD showed that low chewing ability was related to the risk of CVD [16], and some crosssectional Asian studies showed this same relationship in adulthood [17,18]; however, these studies did not suggest an association between chewing ability and stroke.…”