Abstract
To mitigate the impact of dementia, initiating early intervention is important. This study aims to investigate the associations between deterioration in oral function and cognitive decline in older outpatients whose oral health was maintained in the dental clinic. This study included 50 outpatients aged ≥65 years. We used the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J) to assess cognitive decline. Oral function was evaluated by tongue pressure, masticatory performance, and swallowing ability. A full-mouth periodontal examination was conducted, and the occlusal support and number of teeth were recorded. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for cognitive decline (MoCA-J score ≤25 points) were calculated using logistic regression models. The age, number of teeth, tongue pressure, and masticatory performance were significantly correlated with cognitive decline (p < 0.05). Logistic regression analyses revealed that cognitive decline was independently associated with age (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.03–1.52; p = 0.024), number of teeth (OR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.76–1.00; p = 0.047), and lower tongue pressure (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.77–0.98; p = 0.022). Lower tongue pressure and a small number of remaining teeth may be associated with cognitive decline in Japanese outpatients.
Highlights
The number of patients with dementia worldwide is approximately 50 million; projections suggest that this population will be 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050 [1].While many new treatments are under investigation in various clinical trial stages, currently no treatment has been approved for use that is effective in curing dementia or limiting its progressive course [2]
Previous studies have described the relationships between cognitive decline and occlusal force, periodontitis, periodontal inflammation, and lip movement among community-dwelling individuals [12,13,14], to our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the association between low tongue pressure, number of remaining teeth, and cognitive decline in patients who visited the dental clinic to maintain oral health
Since this study targeted outpatients whose oral health was regularly maintained in the dental clinic, all participants were expected to have similar factors that could influence the degree of cognitive decline, such as education, income, and activities of daily living
Summary
The number of patients with dementia worldwide is approximately 50 million; projections suggest that this population will be 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050 [1]. While many new treatments are under investigation in various clinical trial stages, currently no treatment has been approved for use that is effective in curing dementia or limiting its progressive course [2]. It is warranted to explore means to prevent the onset of dementia. Various risk factors such as smoking, social isolation, depression, and low educational levels have been revealed, Int. J. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8700; doi:10.3390/ijerph17228700 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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