Association between Alcohol Consumption and Tooth Loss in the Baseline Survey of Uonuma Cohort Study

Abstract

 The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and tooth loss. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving residents aged 40 years or older, and data from 25,216 subjects were included in the analysis. The characteristics of the subjects were compared regarding sex and alcohol consumption (never drinker, past drinker, and current drinker [1–149 g ethanol/week, 150–299 g ethanol/week, 300–449 g ethanol/week, and ≥450 g ethanol/week]). Next, the association between alcohol consumption and tooth loss was assessed using logistic regression analysis. The number of teeth (<20 teeth and edentulism) was used as a dependent variable, and the characteristics of the subjects were used as independent variables. In men, the presence of <20 teeth was significantly correlated with never drinker, past drinker, and consumption of ≥450 g ethanol/week (reference: 1–149 g ethanol/week; odds ratio [95% confidence interval]=1.49 [1.29–1.72], 1.25 [1.05–1.49], and 1.22 [1.07–1.39], respectively). Edentulism was significantly correlated with never drinker (1.70 [1.33–2.18]). In women, the presence of <20 teeth was significantly correlated with never drinker, 150–299 g ethanol/week, and consumption of ≥450 g ethanol/week (1.20 [1.08–1.34], 1.28 [1.04–1.57], and 1.64 [1.12–2.40], respectively). Edentulism was significantly correlated with consumption of ≥450 g ethanol/week (3.18 [1.31–7.76]). These results suggest that alcohol consumption showed a significant correlation with a reduced number of teeth, the correlation was stronger for current drinkers with higher alcohol consumption, and there were also sex differences in the strength of the correlation.