Association between the number of teeth and frailty among Chinese older adults: a nationwide cross-sectional study

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Yaohua Gu, Wuhan University; Wenwen Wu, Wuhan University; Jinbing Bai, Emory University; Xuyu Chen, Wuhan University; Xiaoli Chen, Wuhan University; Liping Yu, Wuhan University; Qing Zhang, Wuhan University; Zhijie Zou, Wuhan University; Xianwu Luo, Wuhan University; Xianbo Pei, Wuhan University; Xin Liu, Wuhan University; Xiaodong Tan, Wuhan University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-10-01
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029929
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: BMJ Open
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 10
• Start Page: e029929
• End Page: e029929
• Grant/Funding Information: The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; ORAL-HEALTH; INDEX; Medicine, General & Internal; General & Internal Medicine; Science & Technology; PREVALENCE; CLINICAL-PRACTICE
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Nursing

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the association between the number of teeth and frailty among older Chinese adults using a nationally representative sample. Design Cross-sectional analysis was carried out using the 2014 wave data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, which used a targeted random-sampling design. Setting This research was conducted in communities from nearly half of the counties and cities in 22 out of 31 provinces throughout China. Participants Of the 6934 interviewees aged ≥65 years, the final analysis included 3635 older adults who had completed the 2014 wave survey on the variables included in the study. Primary and secondary outcome measures Outcome variables included frailty, measured by the Frailty Index, and number of teeth. Covariates included demographic characteristics (ie, age, sex, co-residence, marital status, years of education and financial support), body mass index (BMI) and health behaviours (ie, smoking, drinking and exercise). A univariate logistic regression was used to test the factors associated with frailty. A multiple logistic regression model was used, using the frailty score as the dependent variable and the number of teeth together with significant covariates as the independent variables. Results The prevalence of frailty was 27.68%. The mean number of teeth present was 9.23 (SD=10.03). The multiple logistic regression showed that older adults' demographic variables, health behaviours, BMI, tooth number and chewing pain were significantly associated with frailty. After adjusting for the covariates, older adults with fewer teeth had significantly higher odds of frailty than those with 20 or more teeth (no teeth: OR=2.07, 95% CI 1.53 to 2.80; 1 to 10 teeth: OR=1.77, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.38), except for older adults with 11 to 20 teeth (OR=1.30, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.82). Conclusions The presence of fewer teeth is significantly associated with frailty status among older Chinese adults. Future studies are needed to explain the specific mechanisms underlying how oral health status is associated with frailty.