The Relationships Between Masticatory Ability and Locomotive Syndrome of the Elderly Aged 65-74

Abstract

To clarify the relationships between the masticatory ability and the locomotive syndrome, we, a research team, evaluated simultaneously the degree of locomotive syndrome, for which “The 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (Locomo 25),” a rough-diagnosis tool for locomotive syndrome was used, and three indexes concerning the masticatory ability; the objective masticatory ability index, the subjective masticatory ability index, and the number of teeth. The research was aimed at the younger elderly aged 65-74, who took the town’s Specific Medical Examination. Even with adjustments of the confounding factors, a significantly large number of participants with lower masticatory ability had the locomotive syndrome.