Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the association between the number of teeth and cognitive functions adjusted for age and education level in a cohort of older adults living in Sweden.
Materials and methods: The study employed a cross-sectional design in which 1147 individuals between 60-96 years underwent a clinical oral examination. The cognitive functions were assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Clock-test. The level of education was obtained from a questionnaire. Data were subjected to Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed, grouping the different variables into pre-determined categories.
Results: The co-variables age and education were significantly associated with the number of teeth (p < 0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the association between the number of teeth and the cognitive functions persisted even after adjusting for age and level of education.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that the presence of teeth may be of importance for cognitive abilities in older adults.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 639-644 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Acta Odontologica Scandinavica |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Swedish Standard Keywords
- Dentistry (30216)
Keywords
- cognitive impairment
- dementia
- elderly
- oral health