Association between sarcopenia and oral functions in community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the state of oral function in older adults with sarcopenia. We assessed the oral functions of community-dwelling older adults with sarcopenia from multiple perspectives to clarify their potentially low oral function. METHODS: A total of 1517 (86.2%; 990 women, 527 men; mean age 76.1 ± 7.6 years) participants were included in this study. Grip strength, gait speed and skeletal muscle mass index were assessed, and sarcopenia was evaluated according to the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019. The degree of tongue coating, oral moisture, occlusal force, tongue-lip motor function, tongue pressure, masticatory function and swallowing function were assessed. The criteria for oral hypofunction (a disease that is a combination of multiple low oral functions) were used to assess oral function. Statistical analyses were performed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, unpaired t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ2 test, and univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses, with each oral function as the dependent variable and sarcopenia as one of the independent variables. The significance level was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia were 14.2% and 3.8%, respectively. The prevalence of oral hypofunction was 39.9%. Compared with the robust group, the sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia groups tended to have a higher frequency of the following components (all P < 0.01): low occlusal force, low tongue-lip motor function, low tongue pressure, low masticatory function, low swallowing function and oral hypofunction. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that sarcopenia was associated with low occlusal force, low tongue-lip motor function, low tongue pressure, low masticatory function, low swallowing function and oral hypofunction. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of sarcopenia for each oral function were 2.62 [2.00, 3.43], 2.21 [1.69, 2.89], 3.66 [2.79, 4.81], 3.23 [2.46, 4.25], 1.66 [1.26, 2.20] and 3.59 [2.72, 4.72], respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that sarcopenia was associated with low occlusal force (1.63 [1.10, 2.40]), low tongue pressure (2.28 [1.65, 3.15]), low masticatory function, (1.94 [1.27, 2.97]), low swallowing function (1.64 [1.17, 2.28]) and oral hypofunction (2.17 [1.52, 3.09]). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that multiple aspects of oral function were low among community-dwelling older adults with sarcopenia. The potential decline in oral functions in older adults with sarcopenia may have been overlooked until now. This study indicates the need for dental perspectives in intervening with older adults with sarcopenia and the need to encourage them to see dental professionals.

Oral administration of polymer hyaluronic acid alleviates symptoms of knee osteoarthritis: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study over a 12-month period.

This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of oral hyaluronic acid (HA) administration for osteoarthritis (OA) in knee joints. Sixty osteoarthritic subjects (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 or 3) were randomly assigned to the HA or placebo group. The subjects in the HA group were given 200 mg of HA once a day everyday for 12 months, while the subjects in the placebo group were given placebo. The subjects in both groups were requested to conduct quadriceps strengthening exercise everyday as part of the treatment. The subjects' symptoms were evaluated by the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure (JKOM) score. The symptoms of the subjects as determined by the JKOM score improved with time in both the HA and placebo groups. This improvement tended to be more obvious with the HA group, and this trend was more obvious with the subjects aged 70 years or less. For these relatively younger subjects, the JKOM score was significantly better than the one for the placebo group at the 2nd and 4th months after the initiation of administration. Oral administration of HA may improve the symptoms of knee OA in patients aged 70 years or younger when combined with the quadriceps strengthening exercise.

Oral frailty and gait performance in community-dwelling older adults: findings from the Takashimadaira study.

Purpose This cross-sectional study compared gait performance between community-dwelling older adults with and without accumulated deficits in oral health, defined as oral frailty.Methods A total of 1,082 individuals (439 men and 643 women; mean age, 77.1 years) from the Takashimadaira study were included in the current analysis. Based on a multifaceted oral health assessment, oral frailty was defined as having three or more of the following six components: (i) fewer teeth, (ii) low masticatory performance, (iii) low articulatory oral motor skills, (iv) low tongue pressure, (v) difficulties in eating, and (vi) swallowing. Eight gait parameters were assessed using an electronic walkway. Gait characteristics comparison between groups with and without oral frailty was performed using multiple linear regression models. Models were adjusted for age, sex, educational status, income, smoking, drinking, physical activity level, height, body mass index, comorbidities, and the presence of chronic pain.Results Oral frailty was observed in 227 (21.0%) participants. After adjusting for potential confounders, the participants with oral frailty had slower gait speed, shorter stride and step length, wider step width, and longer double support duration as well as higher variability of stride length and step length.Conclusions Oral frailty was associated with poor gait performance among community-dwelling older adults.

Simple PEG conjugation of SPIO via an Au-S bond improves its tumor targeting potency as a novel MR tumor imaging agent.

Gold/iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles are hybrid nanoparticles containing a core of magnetic iron oxide and surface colloidal gold, which allows for various biomaterials to be immobilized on the surface of the iron oxide nanoparticles via colloidal gold. Here, we developed a novel magnetic resonance (MR) imaging agent to broaden the MR tumor-imaging spectrum of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIO), e.g., Feridex(), a clinical MR imaging agent for diagnosing liver cancer. Au/Feridex was synthesized by electron beam irradiation, and thiol-modified poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-SH) was easily conjugated to its surface via an Au-S bond without the need for any chemical reactions. PEG conjugation of Au/Feridex enhanced its accumulation in Meth-A tumor tissue and decreased its accumulation in normal liver tissue. In addition, MRI using PEG-Au/Feridex, in contrast to MRI using unmodified Au/Feridex and Feridex, detected B16BL6 and Meth-A tumor tissues in vivo. This finding indicates that PEG-Au/Feridex is useful for diagnosing various types of tumors. In addition, because the synthesis of PEG-Au/Feridex is simple and high yields are easily produced, PEG-modified SPIO for tumor diagnosis can be prepared on an industrial scale with low cost.