2018 Volume 68 Issue 2 Pages 68-75
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the associations of tooth loss, denture use, and self-perceived denture fit with frailty in community-dwelling older Japanese adults. The subjects were 344 Japanese adults (177 men and 167 women) aged 79 years in Niigata City (Japan), who participated in an oral and general health examination and a questionnaire survey in 2007. Frailty was defined as the presence of ≥ 2 of the following 3 factors derived and modified from the Study of Osteoporotic Fracture Criteria for Frailty: 1) weight loss ≥ 5% over 2 years, 2) inability to do chair stands, and 3) answer of “no” to the question “Do you feel full of energy?”. Associations between frailty and tooth loss, denture use, and self-perceived denture fit were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. The multivariable models were adjusted for sex, body mass index, and mental health. The frequency of frailty in this study was 8.4%. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that tooth loss (per each additional tooth present, adjusted odds ratio [OR]=0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.90–0.99), the presence of 20 teeth or more (compared with the presence of less than 20 teeth, adjusted OR=0.39, 95% CI=0.15–0.97), denture non-use (compared with denture use, adjusted OR=17.89, 95% CI=5.00–64.32), and self-perceived ill-fitting denture (compared with well-fitting denture, adjusted OR=3.38, 95% CI=1.01–11.27) were significantly correlated with frailty. Our results suggest that tooth loss, denture non-use, and self-perceived ill-fitting denture were associated with frailty in community-dwelling older Japanese adults.
