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Observational Study
. 2022 Jun 10;22(1):499.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03133-0.

The association between oral health and nutritional status in older adults: a cross-sectional study

Claudine Khoury  1   2 , Johan Samot  1   2 , Catherine Helmer  3 , Rafael Weber Rosa  4 , Aurore Georget  5 , Jean-François Dartigues  3 , Elise Arrivé  6   7
Affiliations
Observational Study

The association between oral health and nutritional status in older adults: a cross-sectional study

Claudine Khoury et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Objectives: This work aimed to describe the nutritional status of French older adults (age ≥ 90 years) and studied the association between oral health and nutritional status.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2014 among the participants of a cohort on cerebral and functional aging in France at their 25-year follow up (the PAQUID cohort). Nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment [MNA]) and oral health status (number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth [DMFT], number of posterior occluding pairs, xerostomia [Xerostomia Inventory], and prosthetic rehabilitation) were recorded at the participants' living places by two dentists. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to explore the association between oral health and nutritional status, with adjustments for potential confounders. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated with their 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: 87 participants were included in the analyses: 74.7% were females and the mean age was 94.1 years (± 3.0). Malnutrition or risk of malnutrition (MNA < 24) was present in 23 participants (26.4%), with only one having malnutrition. The mean DMFT score was 26.5 (± 5.3). The mean number of posterior occluding pairs was 1.5 (± 2.3). Twenty-one participants had xerostomia (24.1%). Only 8.1% of the participants had all their teeth or adequate dentures; 47.1% had inadequate dentures, while 44.8% had no dentures despite tooth loss. After adjustment, xerostomia (OR = 8.79; 95% CI = 2.38-39.10; p = 0.002) was found to be associated with malnutrition or risk of malnutrition.

Conclusion: Being at risk of malnutrition was common among people ≥ 90 years old and was associated with xerostomia. NCT04065828.

Keywords: Aged; Dental occlusion; Epidemiology; Malnutrition; Mini Nutritional Assessment; Oral health; Xerostomia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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