Abstract
The object of this study is to assess geriatric diseases and to suggest measures to prevent aging, by following up a group of subjects from the same area over a period of ten years, concentrating on their oral status. The present report contains the findings after the first year of the survey.
There were 405 subjects, 183 male and 222 female. The three oral status items studied were the number of functional teeth, the number of natural teeth, and the masticatory function (using G-1 jelly).
The four other physical function studied were body weight, grasping power, equilibrium ability (length of time standing on one leg with the eyes poen) bone mineral density (measured by DEXA of the third lumbar vertebra).
The study of the correlation of the above items yielded the following results:
1. Correlation of age and oral status. With increasing age the number of natural teeth and the masticatory function significantly declined, but there was no significant correlation between age and the number of functional teeth.
2. Correlation of oral status and masticatory ability. The more natural teeth there were, the better was the masticatory ability, but there was no significant correlation between the number of functional teeth and the masticatory ability.
3. Multiple regression analysis, regardless of age sex, showed that good masticatory ability had a significantly positive effect on weight, grasping power, equilibrium ability and bone mineral density. This study was carried out as a part of the interdisciplinary long-term follow-up study for aging prevention from the middle years onwards.
