Associations Between Problems in Oral Health, Oral Function and Malnutrition in Older People: Results From Three Databases

Introduction: Poor oral health can influence an individual's dietary intake, which may result in malnutrition. Both problems in oral health and function and malnutrition are common in older people. The aim of the present study was to explore the associations between oral health and oral function and malnutrition in community-dwelling older people within three different databases.

Methods: Data analyses were performed on three existing Dutch databases (Interrai: n = 3876, LPZ: n = 966, PRIMa mouth CARE: n = 975). Logistic regressions (adjusted for age and gender) tested the relation between oral health and oral function (independent variable) and malnutrition (dependent variable).

Results: Problems in oral health and oral function such as broken teeth (OR: 1.43 [95%CI: 1.12-1.81]), oral pain and discomfort (OR: 2.58 [95%CI: 1.52-4.39]), chewing difficulties (OR: 1.99 [95%CI: 1.54-2.57]), swallowing problems (OR: 6.63 [95%CI: 2.85-15.42]), coughing (OR: 6.05 [95%CI: 2.08-17.61]) and food adaptations (OR: 5.46 [95%CI: 2.60-11.4]) were found to be significantly associated with malnutrition in older people.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant link between oral health problems and oral function with malnutrition in community-dwelling older people. Oral health care and healthcare professionals need to consider oral health and oral function in relation to nutritional status and vice versa in community-dwelling older people.