Abstract
Abstract Objectives Older adults in the United States are at greater risk for tooth loss and malnutrition than those younger than 65 years. Prior research regarding associations between dentition status and nutritional status in older adults is heterogeneous. The primary aim of this study was to explore associations between dentition status and nutritional status in older adults. Methods This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study of data from older adults (65–89 years) who received care at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine clinics between June 1, 2015 and June 1, 2020. Nutritional status was determined using Self Mini Nutritional Assessment (Self-MNA). Records were included if they had complete odontogram and Self-MNA data. Spearman rank correlation was performed to analyze the relationships between Self-MNA scores and number of teeth. Chi-square, Fisher's Exact, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to examine the associations between nutritional status category, number of remaining teeth categories, and presence of functional dentition defined as ≥21 teeth. Results Of the 305 records available, 53.8% were female. The median Self-MNA score was 13, indicative of normal nutritional status; 93.1% of the sample had some tooth loss (mean ± SD = 16.7 ± 8.8 teeth). Those who were at risk for or who had malnutrition had fewer teeth (P = 0.02) than those with normal nutritional status. Those with 20–28 teeth or functional dentition were significantly more likely to be of normal nutritional status (P = 0.02 and P = 0.03, respectively) than to be at risk of or have malnutrition, compared to those with fewer teeth. Those with fewer than 20 teeth had significantly lower Self-MNA scores than those with 20 or more teeth (P = 0.02). Conclusions Older adults who were at risk of or who had malnutrition had fewer teeth than those with normal nutritional status. Those with functional dentition were more likely to have a normal nutritional status than those without functional dentition. Future research in larger more diverse samples is needed to better understand the associations between dentition status and nutritional status. Funding Sources None
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