Association between Masticatory Performance, Nutritional Intake, and Frailty in Japanese Older Adults.

The older adult population in Japan is expected to increase. Therefore, long-term care and frailty prevention are important. However, the relationship between masticatory performance, nutritional intake, and frailty remains unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine energy, protein, and vitamin D intake and its association with frailty and masticatory performance in older adults. Patients between January 2022 and January 2023 were recruited and divided into robust and frail groups. Masticatory performance, nutrition, frailty, and other data, such as age and sex, were evaluated through onsite measurements and a questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was conducted with frailty as a dependent variable and masticatory performance as an independent variable, adjusting for age, sex, skeletal muscle mass, living alone, energy intake, protein-energy ratio, and vitamin D intake. No significant differences were observed between the groups regarding age or sex. The robust group showed significantly better results for protein-energy ratio, vitamin D intake, and subjective and objective masticatory performance than the frail group. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between skeletal muscle mass, protein-energy ratio, and objective masticatory performance with frailty. Masticatory performance was associated with frailty, independent of the intake of nutrients such as energy, protein, and vitamin D.

Factors Associated with Selection of Denture Adhesive Type: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

The type of denture adhesive, cream or home-liner, chosen by regular denture adhesive users and oral conditions contributing to this selection require elucidation. The factors associated with denture adhesive selection were investigated through a face-to-face survey on oral and denture conditions. Age, sex, oral moisture, masticatory performance, retention and stability of the removable denture, ridge shape, mucosal thickness, and duration of denture use were examined in cream and home-liner-type denture adhesive users who did not regularly visit a dentist. Univariate analysis and multivariate analyses were performed. There were 38 and 40 cream-type and home-liner-type adhesive users, respectively. The type of denture adhesive was significantly associated with the oral moisture value, retention, ridge shape, mucosal thickness, and duration of denture use in univariate analyses. The residual ridge conditions with large factor loadings for ridge shape and mucosal thickness and duration of denture use were significantly related to the denture adhesive selection in multivariate logistic analysis. The residual ridge conditions and duration of denture use were significant factors in the selection of cream- and home-liner-type denture adhesives. These results can provide appropriate guidance based on the adhesives patients without dental supervision are more likely to choose.