Abstract
Recent studies have noted an association between chewing difficulties and frailty. In a pilot survey of primary care needs of older people living in the community using automated methods, we examined the prevalence of chewing difficulties and the cross-sectional association with other geriatric syndromes, chronic diseases, and the use of hospital services. A brief multi-domain geriatric assessment was administered to 2259 men and women using a mobile device, the data uploaded to the cloud and analyzed. A total of 37.8% had chewing difficulties, which were associated with older age, poor vision, frailty, sarcopenia, memory complaints, low subjective well-being, incontinence, and stroke. The results suggest that chewing difficulties should be included as a geriatric syndrome and should be included in primary care screening of geriatric syndromes as well as chronic diseases.
Highlights
Chewing difficulties are more prevalent among older people, largely as a result of sub-optimal dental care or ill-fitting dentures, as well as a result of neurodegenerative conditions
The assessment was carried out from September 2016 to October 2017. This was a community primary care project based in community centers run by non-government organizations in Hong Kong, to raise health literacy relating to common chronic diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as detection of unmet needs in relation to geriatric syndromes
Logistic regression showed that older age, having poor vision
Summary
Chewing difficulties are more prevalent among older people, largely as a result of sub-optimal dental care or ill-fitting dentures, as well as a result of neurodegenerative conditions. Difficulty in chewing food may have several underlying causes, which include the number of functioning teeth, periodontal health, masticatory force, sarcopenia, pain, xerostomia, as well as swallowing abnormalities (dysphagia). Together, these factors have been grouped under the umbrella of oral health, which impacts adequate food intake. Geriatric syndromes cover multiple domains, such as: Physical (sensory impairment and oral health, polypharmacy, incontinence, sarcopenia, frailty); functional (self-care ability and instrumental activities of daily living, IADL); and Nutrients 2018, 10, 1997; doi:10.3390/nu10121997 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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