Preoperative Prevalence of Oral Hypofunction in Patients Undergoing Gastric Cancer Surgery

Abstract

　Purpose：The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of oral hypofunction（OHF）and its association with nutritional status in patients undergoing gastrectomy.

　Methods：A total of 214 patients who underwent gastrectomy were prospectively recruited from June 2018 to March 2020. Seven sub-symptoms of OHF were measured and patients were diagnosed as OHF if they met more than three criteria of seven symptoms. Nutritional status was measured using the Mini Nutrition Assessment（MNA）. Age was categorized into young（＜70 years）and old（≥70 years）groups. The differences in the OHF measures and the prevalence of OHF were statistically tested by age category and cancer clinical stage（CS）. The association between OHF and MNA was also tested.

　Results：The mean values of tongue pressure, lip-tongue motor function, and occlusal force were significantly lower in the older group. Tongue pressure was also affected by the severity of CS. The prevalence of OHF was 25％ in the young group but increased to 39％ in the older group. In patients with CS of 2 or more, the prevalence of decreased tongue pressure, lip-tongue motor function, or occlusal force was significantly higher in the older group. MNA score was significantly lower in the OHF group than in the non-OHF group.

　Conclusion：We found that oral function had declined in old gastric cancer patients before surgery regardless of cancer clinical stage. We also found that OHF was associated with malnutrition, suggesting that assessment and intervention for OHF could be considered as part of perioperative nutritional management.