Association between underweight and overweight/obesity with oral health among independently living Brazilian elderly

Author(s)

Helena do Nascimento, Torres Luisa ^[1] ; Dias, Silva Debora ^[2] ; Liberalesso, Neri Anita ^[3] ; Balbinot, Hilgert Juliana ^[4] ; Neves, Hugo Fernando ^[4] ; da Luz Rosario, Sousa Maria ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Piracicaba Dent Sch UNICAMP, Dept Community Dent Hlth, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Dent, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Fac Educ UNICAMP, Dept Educ Psychol, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Prevent & Social Dent, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NUTRITION; v. 29, n. 1, p. 152-157, JAN 2013.
• Web of Science Citations: 24

Abstract

Objective: Poor oral status, represented by partial/complete tooth loss, may lead to changes in food choice, which may ultimately lead to underweight, overweight, or obesity. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether poor oral status is associated with underweight or overweight/obesity, regardless of physical activity. Methods: This cross-sectional study is part of a major project, The Frailty in Brazilian Elderly Study, carried out in Campinas, Brazil (2008-2009). The sample was composed of 900 independent-living older adults. Complete data were available for 875 individuals including sociodemographic, self-reported amount of medications used and eating difficulty questionnaire, smoking habit, depressive symptoms, physical activity, oral examination, and anthropometric assessments according to the WHO criteria. Body mass index was used as an outcome. Multinomial logistic regression was adjusted for confounding variables. Results: The mean age of the sample was 72.7 y (+/- 5.81) and the prevalence of edentulism was 47.7%. Edentate individuals not wearing dentures were more likely to be underweight {[}odds ratio (OR) = 3.94,95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-13.641 and overweight/obese (OR = 2.88, 95%0 1.12-7.40). Males (OR = 0.56, 95%CI 0.36-0.85) and those not using medications (OR = 0.41 95%CI 0.24-0.70) were less likely to be overweight/obese. Individuals who smoke (OR = 2.62, 95%CI 1.26-5.44) were more likely to be underweight. Older individuals with family income between 3.1 and 5 minimum wage (OR = 1.69, 95%CI 1.00-2.87) were more likely to be overweight/obese. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies associating poor oral health, represented by edentulism not rehabilitated with dentures, with unfavorable body mass, regardless of the two major confounders, physical activity and depression symptoms. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/51455-2 - Oral health and its association with social and nutritional indicators in older adults from Campinas, São Paulo
• Grantee: Maria da Luz Rosario de Sousa
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants