Oral frailty, appetite and dietary variety in late-stage older adults: A cross-sectional study (the STudy of lAte-stage oldeR adulTs in Tottori; START Tottori)

Sayuri Nakagawa; Kazuhito Miura; Eri Arai; Kenshu Taira; Yutaka Watanabe; Maki Shirobe; Keiko Motokawa; Yuki Ohara; Masanori Iwasaki; Hirohiko Hirano; Takahiro Ono; Akira Adachi; Takao Watanabe; Yutaka Yamazaki

doi:10.1111/ggi.14892

Oral frailty, appetite and dietary variety in late-stage older adults: A cross-sectional study (the STudy of lAte-stage oldeR adulTs in Tottori; START Tottori)

Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2024 May 7. doi: 10.1111/ggi.14892. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Gerodontology, Department of Oral Health Science, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
² Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
³ Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan.
⁶ Tottori Dental Association, Tottori, Japan.

PMID: 38714504
DOI: 10.1111/ggi.14892

Abstract

Aim: Efforts to combat frailty and preserve good health in older adults have highlighted oral frailty as an early indicator of overall frailty. Individuals showing oral frailty are at an elevated risk of insufficient nutritional intake compared with those without oral frailty; however, underlying mechanisms remain poorly explored. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to examine the link between oral frailty and undernutrition, especially regarding poor appetite and low dietary diversity.

Methods: The analysis included 2727 late-stage older adults (mean age 79.9 ± 4.3 years) who underwent dental checkups in a prefecture in Japan from 2016 to 2020. The examination involved a questionnaire survey (covering basic information, frailty screening index, appetite index: Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire; and dietary variety: Dietary Variety Score) and a measurement survey (including intraoral confirmation, oral diadochokinesis and masticatory efficiency test). Individuals with three or more indications of poor oral function, identified through oral function assessment, were defined as showing oral frailty. Binomial logistic regression and path analyses examined associations among oral frailty, Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire and Dietary Variety Score.

Results: Among those analyzed, 1208 (44.3%) participants were categorized into the oral frailty group. Binomial logistic regression analysis showed that Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (odds ratio for oral frailty per 1-point increase 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.84-0.93) and Dietary Variety Score (odds ratio 0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.92-0.98) were significantly associated with oral frailty. The path analysis showed individual associations between each examined factor.

Conclusions: Oral frailty was associated with decreased appetite and dietary variety in late-stage older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; ••: ••-••.

Keywords: dietary variety score; frailty; late‐stage older adults; oral frailty; simplified nutritional appetite questionnaire.