Allostatic load and oral health later in life among middle-aged and older adults: An analysis of population-based panel data in China.

Abstract

Oral health is a major global public health problem, but its risk factors have not been fully identified. The limited evidence suggests that AL may affect oral health conditions, but most of these studies focus only on middle-aged western populations. To examine whether allostatic load is associated with oral health conditions later in life among middle-aged and older adults in China and there there is a correlation in both middle-aged and older people. Data were collected from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011-2018 (N = 10 890) and were analysed using logistic regressions for the overall sample and subsamples by age. Results showed that higher inflammation load significantly increased the odds of edentulism (OR = 1.358, 95% CI = 1.020-1.809, p < .05). Higher metabolic load significantly increased the odds of denture use (OR = 1.375, 95% CI = 1.154-1.640, p < 0.001) and difficulty in chewing solid foods (OR = 1.100, 95% CI = 1.035-1.169, p < .01). These associations were manifested in older adults over 60 years of age, while in the middle-aged subsample, the associations were not significant. The findings suggested that higher allostatic load was associated with poorer oral health conditions later in life. It is critical to lower allostatic load and improve oral health conditions, especially for older adults over 60 years of age. Prospective studies and intervention trials help to better understand whether allostatic load is causally linked to oral health.