Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Miyo Nakade, Assistant Prof¹, Chiyoe Murata², Hiroshi Hirai³, Kiyoko Yoshii³, and Katsunori Kondo³. (1) Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Aichi Gakusen College, 28 Kamikawanari, Hegoshi-cho, Okazaki, 444-8520, Japan, 81-564-34-1212, nakade@gakusen.ac.jp, (2) Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan, (3) Nihon Fukushi University, 5-22-35 Chiyoda, Naka-ku, Nagoya, 460-0012, Japan

Background: In the field of care prevention in Japan, great emphasis has been placed on keeping good oral health and preventing poor nutrition. However, researches that have shown the relationship between these two subjects are few. This study investigates the relationship among elderly oral health, poor nutrition, and SES. Method: We surveyed 17,035 community dwelling people aged 65+ in 15 municipalities who are not receiving care in activities of daily living. Questionnaire survey was conducted with response rate of 64.5%. SES is measured based on equivalized income(low,medium, high)and educational attainment in years (<6, 6-9, 10-12, 13+). Regional characteristics (urban, suburban, rural) were also asked. Analysis was carried out using MANOVA adjusting for age. Results: The rate of those with poor oral health (few remaining teeth, low chewing ability) and risk of poor nutrition (BMI£18.5, low amount of food consumption, and weight loss) increased with age. A correlation was observed among the number of remaining teeth, chewing ability, weight loss, and SES. BMI showed no meaningful correlation with other factors. The percentage of those with almost no teeth was the largest in low-income bracket (p<.001). Such percentage was 6.5% higher in rural high-income bracket (35.9%) compared to urban low-income bracket (29.4%). Conclusion: There is a relationship among oral health, indicators of poor nutrition, and SES. Regional differences were also observed. Rural elders had undesirable conditions than urban elders, indicating the needs for measures targeting at low socio-economic bracket and rural elders.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.That there is a relationship among oral health, indicators of poor nutrition, and SES among community-dwelling elders.
• 2.Existence of regional differences in the health of the elderly.
• 3.There is a marked difference between urban and rural areas.

Keywords: Oral Health, Elderly

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation