Dentition status and frailty in community-dwelling older adults: A 5-year prospective cohort study.

AIM: To examine the longitudinal association between dentition status and incidence of frailty in older adults. METHODS: The present prospective cohort study included community-dwelling Japanese adults aged 75 years at baseline (n = 322). Dental examinations, biochemical blood examinations, physical performance and anthropometric measurements, and structured questionnaires were carried out at baseline. The presence of ≥20 teeth with nine or more occluding pairs of teeth was defined as functional dentition. Annual follow-up examinations, including physical performance, anthropometric measurements and structured questionnaires, were carried out over a 5-year period to determine the incidence of frailty, defined as three or more of the following five components derived from the Cardiovascular Health Study: weight loss, weakness, slowness, poor energy and low physical activity level. Adjusted hazard ratios of frailty incidence according to dentition status were calculated from Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. RESULTS: At baseline, 118 participants (36.6%) were defined as having functional dentition. During the follow up, 48 participants (14.9%) developed frailty. The adjusted hazard ratio for frailty in participants with functional dentition was 0.50 (95% confidence interval 0.25-0.98) compared with participants without functional dentition, after adjusting for sex, income, education, smoking status, body mass index, serum biomarkers and comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: Functional dentition was significantly associated with a lower risk of frailty defined by the Cardiovascular Health Study frailty index in older Japanese adults. These results suggest that maintaining healthy and functional dentition into later life is important for frailty prevention. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 256-262.

Relationship between dental occlusion and physical fitness in an elderly population.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between physical fitness and dental health status in elderly adults is still unknown. The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between physical fitness and occlusal condition of natural teeth in the elderly population. The sample consisted of 591 individuals aged 70 years and 158 aged 80 years selected from the registry of residents in Niigata city. METHODS: Hand grip strength (kg), leg extensor strength (kg), leg extensor power (watts), stepping rate (time per 10 seconds), and one-leg standing time with eyes open (seconds) were measured. The Eichner index was used as a measurement of occlusal condition. It was based on existing natural tooth contacts between maxilla and mandible in the bilateral premolar and molar regions and determined the three groups of classification used. In comparing physical fitness with Eichner index, multiple regression models were developed to adjust for variables such as age, gender, height, body weight, past medical history, blood pressure, serum albumin concentration, presence of lower back pain, smoking habit, marital status, and education. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses revealed that leg extensor power (R(2) =.627, p <.05), stepping rate (R(2) =.159, p <.05), and one-leg standing time with eyes open (R(2) =.179, p <.05) showed significant correlations with the Eichner index. CONCLUSIONS: Leg extensor power, stepping rate, and one-leg standing time with eyes open are useful indicators in evaluating lower extremity dynamic strength, agility, and balance function, respectively. These findings suggest that dental occlusal condition is associated with lower extremity dynamic strength, agility, and balance function in elderly adults.

Influence of dental occlusion on physical fitness decline in a healthy Japanese elderly population.

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between dental occlusion and physical fitness by a longitudinal survey. A sample of 348 subjects (171 men and 177 women) aged 71 was investigated by Eichner index (EI) as an occlusal condition (Class A: no loss; Class B: partial loss; Class C: complete loss) and five types of physical fitness tests and were re-examined 8 years later. The upper 50% were sampled to analyze the correlation between each physical fitness decline and the EI at the baseline by logistic regression models. Logistic regression analyses revealed that leg extensor power (Class B vs. Class A; odds ratio=OR=4.61, p=0.010) and one-leg standing time with eyes open (Class C vs. Class A; OR=4.27, p=0.031) showed significant correlations with the EI at the baseline. In this study, partial or complete loss of occlusion was associated with a decline in leg extensor power or a decrease in one-leg standing time with eyes open. These findings suggest that maintenance of dental occlusion may prevent a decrease in activities of daily living in the elderly.

Calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium intakes in Japanese children aged 3 to 5 years.

The present study aimed to evaluate in preschool children the intakes of Ca, Mg that possibly affect health and tooth formation and the intakes of K and Na that may affect lifestyle-related diseases. Information on dietary intake was collected from 90 preschool children (15 boys and 15 girls each in the 3-, 4- and 5-year old groups) on 3 separate days in the school fiscal year 1999 (April 1999 to March 2000) by the duplicate-diet technique. The Ca, Mg, K, and Na concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry using wet-ashed samples. The medians of mean daily intakes of Ca, Mg, K and Na in 3- to 5-year-old children were 432 mg, 110 mg, 1.18 g and 1.60 g, respectively, and no significant differences with regard to gender were observed. Seasonal varia-tion of intake was seen for each mineral. Calcium intake in most preschool children did not meet adequate intake (AI), probably due to low intakes of milk and dairy products in Japan. Magnesium intake was below the estimated average requirement (EAR) in 13.3% of the subjects, while the K intake met the AI. Sodium intake in a quarter of preschool children exceeded the tentative dietary goal. We concluded that in Japanese children aged 3-5 years; Ca intake is low, Na intake is high, and K intake is adequate, but some children could be at risk for Mg deficiency.

The relationship between dietary intake and the number of teeth in elderly Japanese subjects.

OBJECTIVE: This study used a precise weighing method to assess whether tooth loss was related to nutrient intake in elderly Japanese subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-seven subjects aged 74 years were randomly selected from a longitudinal interdisciplinary study of ageing. Complete 3-day food intake data were obtained by a precise weighing method. The dietary intakes of energy and nutrients were calculated based on the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (5th ed.). A clinical evaluation of the number of teeth present was carried out. Multiple regression standardised coefficients for each nutrient was estimated based on a continuous scale adjusted for gender, smoking habits, and educational level. After dividing the subjects into two groups according to the number of teeth present (0-19, 20+), the difference in the intake of nutrients and the amount of food consumed per day was evaluated. RESULTS: The number of teeth present had a significant relationship with the intake of several nutrients. In particular, total protein, animal protein, sodium, vitamin D, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, niacin, and pantothenic acid were significantly associated with the number of teeth present and with the two groups (0-19, 20+). The intake of vegetables and fish, shellfish, and their products was significantly lower among subjects with fewer teeth. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that there was a significant relationship between nutrient intake, such as minerals and vitamins from food, and tooth loss.