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BMC Oral Health
Published in: BMC Oral Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older Japanese adults: a 4-year prospective cohort study from the Ohasama study

Authors: Sho Saito, Takashi Ohi, Takahisa Murakami, Takamasa Komiyama, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Kosei Endo, Michihiro Satoh, Kei Asayama, Ryusuke Inoue, Masahiro Kikuya, Hirohito Metoki, Yutaka Imai, Takayoshi Ohkubo, Yoshinori Hattori

Published in: BMC Oral Health | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Numerous prospective studies have investigated the association between the number of remaining teeth and dementia or cognitive decline. However, no agreement has emerged on the association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment, possibly due to past studies differing in target groups and methodologies. We aimed to investigate the association between tooth loss, as evaluated through clinical oral examinations, and the development of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults while considering baseline cognitive function.

Methods

This 4-year prospective cohort study followed 140 older adults (69.3% female) without cognitive impairment aged ≥65 years (mean age: 70.9 ± 4.3 years) living in the town of Ohasama, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Cognitive function was evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in baseline and follow-up surveys. Based on a baseline oral examination, the participants were divided into those with 0–9 teeth and those with ≥10 teeth. To investigate the association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment, we applied a multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, cerebrovascular/cardiovascular disease, hypercholesterolemia, depressive symptoms, body mass index, smoking status, drinking status, duration of education, and baseline MMSE score.

Results

In the 4 years after the baseline survey, 27 participants (19.3%) developed cognitive impairment (i.e., MMSE scores of ≤24). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that participants with 0–9 teeth were more likely to develop cognitive impairment than those with ≥10 teeth were (odds ratio: 3.31; 95% confidence interval: 1.07–10.2). Age, male gender, and baseline MMSE scores were also significantly associated with cognitive impairment.

Conclusions

Tooth loss was independently associated with the development of cognitive impairment within 4 years among community-dwelling older adults. This finding corroborates the hypothesis that tooth loss may be a predictor or risk factor for cognitive decline.
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Metadata
Title
Association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older Japanese adults: a 4-year prospective cohort study from the Ohasama study
Authors
Sho Saito
Takashi Ohi
Takahisa Murakami
Takamasa Komiyama
Yoshitada Miyoshi
Kosei Endo
Michihiro Satoh
Kei Asayama
Ryusuke Inoue
Masahiro Kikuya
Hirohito Metoki
Yutaka Imai
Takayoshi Ohkubo
Yoshinori Hattori
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Oral Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-018-0602-7

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