IADR Abstract Archives
Relationship Between Oral Health and Progression of Frailty
Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to investigate the relationship between: a) tooth loss; and b) removable denture usage, and the progression of frailty in an ageing population.
Methods: The subjects were the participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging [ELSA] aged 50 years and older. We used panel data from three waves of the study: Waves 7-9 (2014-2015; 2016-2017; 2018-2019). Indicators of oral health were a) the number of teeth (>20; 10-19; 1-9; 0); and, b) a combination of removable denture usage (partial or complete) and the number of teeth. Frailty was assessed by the 32-item Frailty Index (FI) comprising comorbidity, self-reported general health status, activity of daily living, intellectual activity of daily living, mobility, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function. Covariates were age, sex, smoking, alcohol intake, education, marital status, and physical activity. The longitudinal relationship between oral health indicators and change in FI were investigated using linear mixed-effect model considering the FI as a time-varying variable.
Results: Among the 7,557 participants across the selected waves, compared to those people with 20 or more teeth, change in frailty score over time was significantly higher among those with less than 20 teeth: 10-19 teeth (β: 0.249, 95%CI: 0.116 to 0.382), and 1-9 teeth (β: 0.238, 95%CI: 0.053 to 0.423), and edentate (β: 0.286, 95%CI: 0.106 to 0.465) when adjusting for co-variates. The change in frailty score over time was significantly higher among those with fewer teeth, regardless of denture use.
Conclusions: This longitudinal study across three time points suggests that tooth loss below the threshold of 20 teeth is related to the accelerated progression of frailty, when adjusting for covariates. Thus, maintaining a natural dentition is potentially effective for the gradual progression of frailty.
Methods: The subjects were the participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging [ELSA] aged 50 years and older. We used panel data from three waves of the study: Waves 7-9 (2014-2015; 2016-2017; 2018-2019). Indicators of oral health were a) the number of teeth (>20; 10-19; 1-9; 0); and, b) a combination of removable denture usage (partial or complete) and the number of teeth. Frailty was assessed by the 32-item Frailty Index (FI) comprising comorbidity, self-reported general health status, activity of daily living, intellectual activity of daily living, mobility, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function. Covariates were age, sex, smoking, alcohol intake, education, marital status, and physical activity. The longitudinal relationship between oral health indicators and change in FI were investigated using linear mixed-effect model considering the FI as a time-varying variable.
Results: Among the 7,557 participants across the selected waves, compared to those people with 20 or more teeth, change in frailty score over time was significantly higher among those with less than 20 teeth: 10-19 teeth (β: 0.249, 95%CI: 0.116 to 0.382), and 1-9 teeth (β: 0.238, 95%CI: 0.053 to 0.423), and edentate (β: 0.286, 95%CI: 0.106 to 0.465) when adjusting for co-variates. The change in frailty score over time was significantly higher among those with fewer teeth, regardless of denture use.
Conclusions: This longitudinal study across three time points suggests that tooth loss below the threshold of 20 teeth is related to the accelerated progression of frailty, when adjusting for covariates. Thus, maintaining a natural dentition is potentially effective for the gradual progression of frailty.