Declines of skeletal muscle mass and oral function with aging cause a decline in the swallowing function. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to clarify the associations of the swallowing function, posterior occlusion, and skeletal muscle index. The subjects were 236 Japanese elderly people in Aichi Prefecture (88 men: 75.9±7.4 years, 148 women: 77.6±6.5 years) who participated in a care prevention program in 2017. We examined the number of teeth, Eichner’s classification, and posterior occluding pairs (POPs: 0–8 pairs), which are defined as pairs of occluding natural, restored, or fixed prosthetic postcanine teeth. The swallowing function was assessed with the repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST: ≥ 3 vs. < 3 times). The skeletal muscle index (SMI), medical history (Charlson Comorbidity Index), smoking status, nutritional status (MNA-SF), tongue pressure, denture use, and oral mucosa moisture were determined. The proportion of participants with RSST < 3 times was 31.8% for women and 10.2% for men. For the women, univariate analyses showed that RSST was significantly correlated with age, SMI, denture use, the number of teeth, and POPs. Multivariate logistic regression showed that RSST was significantly correlated with only POPs [odds ratio: 0.80 (95% confidence interval: 0.64‒0.99)]. Our results show that posterior occlusion loss was associated with a decline of the swallowing function in community-dwelling elderly Japanese women.

 Severe oral mucositis (OM) can develop in patients with blood cancer undergoing chemotherapy, and it sometimes causes serious infection in addition to pain, thereby affecting the patient’s quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the preventive effect of professional oral health management (POHM) against OM in patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

 Thirty-three patients who were diagnosed with multiple myeloma or malignant lymphoma and received autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at Tokushima University Hospital from November 2004 to June 2013 were enrolled in this study. The subjects were divided into two groups: before establishment of the POHM system for patients with blood cancer; and after establishment of the POHM system. The grade of OM (NCI-CTCAE version 3), duration of fever, clinical parameters, and prescription days of gargle or druguse in each patient were investigated.

 There were positive correlations between the duration of Grade 2 or 3 OM and the days of fever over 37.5°C, prescription days of gargleuse including local anesthetic components, or those of analgesic druguse. The days of Grade 3 OM in the group after establishment of the POHM system decreased significantly compared with those in the group before its establishment.

 These results suggest that the duration of severe OM is associated with the days of fever and prescription days of druguse. Furthermore, POHM might be effective for the prevention of severe OM in patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantaton.

 This study aimed to examine trends in the number of teeth (NofT) by age, identify potential NofT trajectory patterns, and explore whether these trajectory patterns were associated with all-cause mortality among community-dwelling older adults. The study population consisted of 299 adults (baseline age, 70 years; 154 men and 145 women) who had 20 or more teeth. NofT data collected annually from 70 to 80 years of age were used to assign study members to trajectories applying group-based trajectory modeling. Three distinct NofT trajectories were identified: “retaining 28 teeth”; “mid-NofT, decreasing”; and “low-NofT, decreasing”. Survival analysis using Cox-proportional hazard modeling with a maximum follow-up of 15 years (from 70 to 85 years of age) showed that the “retaining 28 teeth” trajectory was associated with lower all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.50, 95% confidence interval = 0.28‒0.89) compared with the “low-NofT, decreasing” trajectory. These study results indicate that there is heterogeneity in the trend of NofT by age among community-dwelling adults with 20 or more teeth in their 70s, and that retention of a larger number of teeth, ideally 28 teeth, during later life is associated with greater longevity.

Abstract in Japaneses

Abstract in Japaneses