Association Between Oral Health Complaints and Nutritional Status among Patients with Cancer: A Study Utilising the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form

Malnutrition could profoundly affect older adults' oral health and quality of life, whereas oral health might, in turn, impact dietary intake and nutritional status. The present study aimed to investigate the association between general and oral health and nutritional status among older adults attending nutrition clinics at two main medical centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A cross-section study was carried out among adult patients (≥60 years) who attended a geriatric clinic or nutrition clinic at King Khalid University Hospital or King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. A validated clinician's Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF), Oral Health Impact Profile-5 (OHIP-5), and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) were collected from each participant. A total of 261 participants with a mean age of 72.14 (±8.97) years were recruited. Diabetes (71%) and hypertension (80%) were present in the majority of patients. The overall MNA-SF score was (10 ± 3). Based on the categorization of the MNA-SF score, 65.9% were classified as malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Participants with OHIP-5 scores higher than the median (>5) were more likely to be malnourished than those with scores at or lower than 5 (p < 0). The adjusted odd ratio for the MNA-SF score categories indicated that for a one-unit increase in the total SF-36 score, the odds of the malnourished category are 0.94 times less than the risk of malnutrition and normal nutritional status, with OR 0.97 (95% CI 0.94-0.95). Malnutrition or being at risk of malnutrition is likely associated with poor general and oral health. Healthcare providers need to incorporate dietitians into care plans to promote the nutritional health of older adults.

BackgroundThere is a paucity of data on oral health problems among the residents of Fanteakwa districts (South and North) in the Eastern region of Ghana. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with self-reported oral health problems in the Fanteakwa districts of Ghana.MethodsThis community-based cross-sectional study targeted residents of the towns of the Fanteakwa districts, who have not had any dental care visit in the past six months preceding the study. The participants were enrolled from July – October, 2023. Socio-demographic study variables collected were sex, age, educational level, income level, ethnicity, area of residence, household size and frequency of brushing teeth in a day. Whereas the self-reported oral health problems were tooth ache, swollen gum, bleeding gum, sensitive tooth/teeth, hole in tooth/teeth, discoloured tooth/teeth and mouth odour. The chi-square statistical test was used to test the association between the presence of oral health problem(s) and other independent variables. Whereas, Modified Poisson regression was used to test the relationships among the variables.ResultsIn total, 400 community members were interviewed. The mean age of respondents was 31 years (SD ± 12.4, Min = 19, Max = 81). The majority were females (55.2%) and more than 96% had some form of formal education. The Akan ethnic group accounted for as much as 47% of the respondents. The overall prevalence of self-reported oral health problems was 58.5% (95% CI 53.5% – 63.4%). The commonly reported oral health problems were toothache (51.7%), swollen gum (38.5%), difficulty in chewing (33.3%), bleeding gum (32.1%), and mobile teeth (17.1%). About 98% (229/234) of the study participants who self-reported oral health problems, reported up to four different problems. Self-reported oral health problems associated with participants’ age (χ2 = 7.2, p = 0.027), income level (χ2 = 19.3, p < 0.001), ethnicity (χ2 = 21.2, p < 0.001), area of residence (χ2 = 26.9, p < 0.001), religious affiliation (χ2 = 15.7, p < 0.001) and frequency of brushing teeth in a day (χ2 = 6.85, p < 0.032). Despite the observed relationships, Modified Poisson regression identified that compared to the rural dwellers, the urban dwellers had lower odds of self-reporting oral health problems (aOR = 0.718, p = 0.032, CI: 0.531–0.971), after controlling for age and frequency of teeth brushing in a day.ConclusionHigh rate of self-reported oral health problems was observed in the study site. Participants from rural residence were disproportionately affected. Therefore, local health authorities are encouraged to leverage on the identified risk groups for enhanced oral health education towards reduction in the reported oral health problems.

Background:Pregnancy is a critical period during which hormonal and behavioral changes increase susceptibility to various oral health problems. Poor oral hygiene and lack of awareness among pregnant women can exacerbate conditions such as gingivitis, tooth decay, and gum inflammation. Understanding the associations between oral health status and oral hygiene practices is essential to guide preventive care during pregnancy. Objectives: To assess the association between oral health status and oral hygiene behavior also practice among pregnant women attending hospitals in Bangladesh and to identify socio-demographic and behavioral factors influencing oral health problems. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 206 pregnant women selected from different hospitals in Bangladesh. Data were collected through a pre tested structured questionnaire covering the socio-demographic characteristics, pregnancy-related information, oral hygiene practices, and self-reported oral health problems. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, applying descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests to examine associations, with a significance level set at p &lt; 0.05. Results: Overall, 69.3% of participants reported at least one oral health problem, most commonly tooth sensitivity (65.0%), tooth decay (53.4%), swollen gums (41.3%), painful or reddish gums (37.4%), gum bleeding (33.4%), and dental caries (26.7%). A significant association was observed between pregnancy trimester and gum problems—bleeding (p = 0.000), swollen (p = 0.015), painful (p = 0.031), and reddish gums (p = 0.001). Awareness about pregnancy gingivitis was significantly related to educational level (p = 0.036), while bleeding gums were associated with monthly income (p = 0.032). Brushing frequency (p = 0.010), type of cleaning material (p = 0.009), and frequency of consuming sugary foods (p = 0.004, p = 0.041) showed significant associations with different gum problems, whereas dental visit timing showed no significant relationship (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusion: Oral health problems were highly prevalent among pregnant women and were significantly associated with pregnancy trimester, socioeconomic status, brushing habits, and dietary practices. Educational interventions and integration of oral health counseling into antenatal care are recommended to improve awareness and promote better oral hygiene behaviors during pregnancy.J. Contemp. Dent. Sci. 2026;14(1):14-17

Accuracy of Nutritional Status Assessment Tools for the Diagnosis of Malnutrition in Hospitalized Elderly Cancer Patients

BackgroundInequalities in oral health and nutrition present substantial challenges for vulnerable older adults. Although poor oral health is known to increase the risk of inadequate dietary quality and compromised nutritional status, limited evidence exists on this relationship among socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults in rural areas—a particularly vulnerable population. This study investigates the association between oral health, dietary quality and nutritional status among socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults in rural China.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 310 socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults aged 60 or above in rural Shaanxi province, northwest China. Oral health was assessed using indicators of oral problems measured by the 5-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-5) and the number of missing teeth. Dietary quality was evaluated through the Simplified Healthy Eating Index (SHEI) and dietary patterns, while nutritional status was assessed using the Short-Form Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF). Multiple linear regression examined associations between oral health, adherence to a healthy diet and nutritional status, while quantile regression analyzed its relationship with dietary patterns.ResultsAmong participants, an average of 14.08 teeth were missing, increasing to 17.30 when considering number of missing teeth not replaced with dentures. The mean OHIP-5 score was 5.78. The average SHEI score was 14.70, and the mean MNA-SF score was 11.57. Regression analyses consistently showed a negative association between poor oral health and both adherence to a healthy diet—including reduced intake of the “vegetable and meat” dietary pattern—and nutritional status. Heterogeneity analysis found no significant variations across care arrangements and family poverty status.ConclusionsThis study highlights the critical relationship between oral health, dietary quality and nutritional status among socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults in rural China. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to improve oral health, dietary intake and nutritional well-being in aging populations with disadvantaged and rural settings.

BackgroundThere is an intersection between oral and mental health though the studies on these intersections are few. This study investigated associations between self-reported oral health problems, quality of oral health, and depression and general anxiety among adolescents and adults in Nigeria; and analysed the moderating effects of resilience and self-esteem on these associations.MethodsIn this secondary analysis, data were extracted from the database of an online survey conducted among participants 13 years and older and living in Nigeria about their self-reported psychological wellbeing. The data was collected between September and October 2020. Dependent variables were self-reported presence of oral health problems (yes/no) and self-reported quality of oral health (using a five-item scale ranging from “very good” to “very poor”). Independent variables were depressive and anxiety symptoms. Moderating factors evaluated were resilience and self-esteem. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associations between the dependent and independent variables after adjusting for confounders (age, sex, employment status and educational status). A path analysis was conducted to determine the moderating effects of self-esteem and resilience on associations between dependent and independent variables.ResultsWe extracted data for 2,757 adolescents and adults aged 13 to 62 years, of which 2,062 (74.8%) reported having oral health problems and 925 (33.6%) reported poor quality of oral health. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were significantly associated with higher odds of oral health problems (AOR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.04–1.10; p<0.001). Higher levels of depressive symptoms (AOR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.03–1.07; p<0.001), and higher levels of anxiety symptoms (AOR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.04–1.11; p<0.001) were significantly associated with poor quality of oral health. Resilience significantly moderated the association between anxiety symptoms and oral health problems (AOR = -0.004; 95% CI: -0.006 –-0.001; p = 0.002).ConclusionDepression may be a risk indicator for self-reported oral health problems, while depression and anxiety appear to be risk indicators for self-reported poor quality of oral health. These factors could be included as confounders in future studies on oral health problems and quality of oral health among adolescents and adults in Nigeria.

There is an intersection between oral and mental health though the studies on these intersections are few. This study investigated associations between self-reported oral health problems, quality of oral health, and depression and general anxiety among adolescents and adults in Nigeria; and analysed the moderating effects of resilience and self-esteem on these associations. In this secondary analysis, data were extracted from the database of an online survey conducted among participants 13 years and older and living in Nigeria about their self-reported psychological wellbeing. The data was collected between September and October 2020. Dependent variables were self-reported presence of oral health problems (yes/no) and self-reported quality of oral health (using a five-item scale ranging from "very good" to "very poor"). Independent variables were depressive and anxiety symptoms. Moderating factors evaluated were resilience and self-esteem. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associations between the dependent and independent variables after adjusting for confounders (age, sex, employment status and educational status). A path analysis was conducted to determine the moderating effects of self-esteem and resilience on associations between dependent and independent variables. We extracted data for 2,757 adolescents and adults aged 13 to 62 years, of which 2,062 (74.8%) reported having oral health problems and 925 (33.6%) reported poor quality of oral health. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were significantly associated with higher odds of oral health problems (AOR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.04-1.10; p<0.001). Higher levels of depressive symptoms (AOR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.03-1.07; p<0.001), and higher levels of anxiety symptoms (AOR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.04-1.11; p<0.001) were significantly associated with poor quality of oral health. Resilience significantly moderated the association between anxiety symptoms and oral health problems (AOR = -0.004; 95% CI: -0.006 --0.001; p = 0.002). Depression may be a risk indicator for self-reported oral health problems, while depression and anxiety appear to be risk indicators for self-reported poor quality of oral health. These factors could be included as confounders in future studies on oral health problems and quality of oral health among adolescents and adults in Nigeria.

Factors associated with deterioration of mini nutritional assessment-short form status of nursing home residents during a 2-year period.

BackgroundVarious scales have been used to perform a quick and first level nutritional assessment, and the MNA is one of the most used and recommended by experts in the elderly in all areas. This scale has a short form, the MNA-SF, revised and validated in 2009, which has two versions: the BMI-MNA-SF contains the first six items of the full scale including Body Mass Index while the CC-MNA-SF includes Calf Circumference instead of BMI.ObjectiveTo evaluate the predictive ability for nutritional status of the two versions of the MNA-SF against the MNA in free-living elderly in the province of Valencia.MethodsCross-sectional study of 660 free-living elderly in the province of Valencia selected in 12 community centres using stratified sampling by blocks. Inclusion criteria: being aged 65 or over, living at home, having functional autonomy, residing in the province of study for more than one year, regularly attending community centres and voluntarily wanting to take part.ResultsOf the 660 subjects studied, 319 were men (48.3%) and 341 (51.7%) women with a mean age of 74.3 years (SD = 6.6). In terms of nutritional assessment, using the BMI-MNA-SF and the CC-MNA-SF we found that 26.5% and 26.2% were at risk of malnutrition and 0.9% and 1.5% were malnourished respectively. With the full MNA, 23.3% were at risk of malnutrition. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients indicate a high association between the full MNA score and the MNA-SFs scores (BMI-MNA-SF: ρ = 0.78p < 0.001; CC-MNA-SF: ρ = 0.78p < 0.001). In addition we obtained a very high correlation between the two MNA-SFs (ρ = 0.96p < 0.001). We evaluated the agreement between the full MNA and the MNA-SFs classification in three nutritional categories (normal nutritional status, risk of malnutrition, malnutrition) with Cohen’s kappa coefficients (BMI-MNA-SF: κ = 0.54p < 0.001; CC-MNA-SF: κ = 0.52p < 0.001). These values indicate moderate agreement with the full MNA. There is very good agreement between the BMI-MNA-SF and CC-MNA-SF (κ = 0.88p < 0.001). In order to determine the ability of both MNA-SFs to identify subjects not requiring any nutritional intervention, we considered the dichotomised categorisation of the full MNA and the MNA-SFs as “normal nutritional status” vs. “malnutrition and risk of malnutrition” Areas under the ROC curves using MNA as the gold standard indicate moderately high prognostic accuracy (BMI-MNA-SF: AUC = 0.88p < 0.001; CC-MNA-SF: AUC = 0.87 p < 0.001). Both versions of the MNA-SF showed similar sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic effectiveness (BMI-MNA-SF: 73.4%, 86.6%, 83.5%; CC-MNA-SF 73.4%, 86.2%, 83.2%).ConclusionsIn its two versions the MNA-SF presents useful predictive ability against the MNA. The advantage of the CC-MNA-SF is that using it requires fewer resources and less time in primary care, although always the characteristics of the population must take into account to make the right decision based on the MNA-SF scales.

Objectives: Oral health problem is prevalent in the elderly population which is also at high risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the association between self-reported oral health and PD is still unclear. We aimed to explore the association between baseline self-reported oral health (mouth ulcers, painful gums, bleeding gums, loose teeth, toothache, dentures) and future incidence of PD. Methods and Participants: Participants were enrolled in the UK Biobank from 2006 to 2010 and those without PD at baseline were included in the current study. We used Cox regression analysis to explore the question and adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, drinking, ethnicity, education, socioeconomic status, and average total household income before tax. Results: We included 421,180 participants with a mean age of 56.26 years old, and 46.5% of them were male. And 2,339 participants were diagnosed with PD in the follow-up. Mouth ulcers, loose teeth, dentures, toothache, and bleeding gums were not related to the risk of PD. Painful gums were related to a higher risk of PD (HR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12–1.72, p = 0.003), and similar results were reached after adjusting for gene risk (HR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12–1.73, p = 0.003), or source of diagnosis (HR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12–1.72, p = 0.002), and time of diagnosis (HR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.03–1.63, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Our study has demonstrated a substantial correlation between painful gums and elevated susceptibility to PD, underscoring the potential advantages of implementing oral health interventions for decreasing the risk of PD.

Distinct contributions of muscle mass and strength stratified by nutritional status to physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that affects not only the joints, but also other organ systems including the oral cavity. Studies have demonstrated an association between RA and oral disease, in particular periodontal disease. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine self-reported oral health problems among RA patients and its association with oral health-related quality of life. A total of 67 RA patients attending the Rheumatology Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia participated in this study. Self-administered questionnaires including the Malay version of Short Oral Health Impact Profile [S-OHIP(M)] questionnaire were used to obtain the variables of interests. Most patients perceived their oral health status as good or very good (70.2%) although some reported having at least one oral health problem (40.3%). Commonly reported oral health problems were cavitated tooth (16.4%), swollen gums (16.4%), bad breath (14.9%), and bleeding gums (13.4%). Some patients have lost all upper teeth (32.8%) and all lower teeth (28.4%). The median S-OHIP(M) score was 3.00 (IQR 7.00). With regard to prevalence of impact, item discomfort due to food getting stuck has the highest prevalence of 13.4%, followed by avoided eating certain foods (7.5%). No significant association was found between median S-OHIP(M) score and self-reported oral health problem among RA patients, but a significant association was found between median S-OHIP(M) score and perceived oral health status (P=0.013). In conclusion, oral health problems were common in RA patients, and the association between patients’ oral health perceptions and severity of impact from oral problems was apparent.

Nutritional and Functional Status in Geriatric Day Hospital Patients - MNA Short Form Versus Full MNA.

Protein and/or energy malnutrition is common in hospitalized older patients and is associated with poor outcomes. Among recommended nutritional screening tools, contrasting data exist about the usefulness of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF). We evaluated whether the MNA-SF, alone or integrated with serum albumin levels, is a reliable predictor of functional decline in older patients. We studied 275 elderly patients (mean age 76.5, 60.7% males) admitted to an acute medical ward of a tertiary-care teaching hospital over a 12-month period. In this observational study, we evaluated nutritional status, with the MNA-SF alone or integrated with albumin. Data were collected at admission and related to laboratory and geriatric assessment features, and length of stay (LOS). Functional decline (defined as a loss >or=10% in terms of Barthel Index score at discharge compared with 2 weeks before admission) was considered as outcome. The MNA-SF estimated 46% patients at risk of malnutrition. These subjects had worse clinical features (lower total cholesterol and albumin levels), longer LOS (13.3 vs 11.2 days, p=0.014) and considerable functional decline (OR 4.25, 95% CI 1.83-9.9, p=0.001). Integrating the MNA-SF with albumin values, we obtained an effective instrument to detect older inpatients with protein-energy malnutrition, at higher risk of undergoing functional decline (OR 16.19, 95% CI 4.68-56.03, p<0.0001). The MNA-SF is a useful screening tool for hospitalized elders at risk of malnutrition. It is associated with poor clinical outcomes and is able to predict functional decline. Together with hypoalbuminemia, it better identifies patients with true protein-energy malnutrition.

Association of poor oral health with increased incidence of dysphagia and impaired improvement in nutritional status among patients with acute heart failure: a prospective cohort study.