Association Between the Number of Remaining Teeth and Body Mass Index in Older Adults
With the development of medical science and the economy, the average life span of people is increasing and the elderly population has rapidly grown, delivering a social dilemma, the older generation’s various health problems. Among these, dental health is one of the crucial factors affecting the health of the whole body. In particular, the ability to chew food in relation with the remaining number of teeth in an aged person affects overall nutritional, which has been proven to be an important factor, directly affecting the quality of life of the elderly. However, the number of remaining teeth in an elderly person in South Korea is decreasing, which is showing atendency of high complaint rate of discomfort chewing. For this, the study was conducted to investigate the relevance of elderly people’s remaining teeth and body mass index. This research was conducted on 1,478 people above the age of 65, subjects of the 5th period of preliminary year (2010)conducted by the Korea National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey. Descriptive statistical analysis, generalized linear model and multiple logistics analysis was conducted by using SPSS18.0. As a result of the study, according to the subject’s social demographic characteristics, The lower a subject’s level of education was, the who graduated middle school had more remaining teeth than those who did not graduate elementary school. In addition, the there was no connection found between the bodily health and remaining teeth. Among living habits and dental health conditions, and in the case of drinking for 1 year, the number of remaining teeth was higher in people who brushed their teeth twice a day, than those who brushed more than 3 times per day. In addition, in the case of having dentures and implants, and having trouble with chewing, the number of remaining teeth was low. As the number of remaining teeth was high, the cross ratio was higher(cross ratio=1.03,95% Confidence interval:1.00-1.06)in cases where the subject’s body mass index was normal than overweight or obese. In cases where the body mass index was ‘low weight’ over ‘normal’, drinking for 1 year had an impact, where as in cases in which the body mass index was ‘overweight’over‘normal’, the body mass index rose in cases where high blood pressure was present over when absent. Furthermore, the body mass index was reduced in smokers over non-smokers. In addition, in cases where the body mass index was ‘obese’ over ‘normal’, and as the number of remaining teeth rose and had high blood pressure and dentures, the body mass index rose. As age was higher, and as the frequency of brushing teeth per day was 3 or over 0,the body mass index was reduced. This study provides solutions to reduce and prevent teeth loss in elderly populations and suggests systematic brushing, oral health management’s education as well as providing accurate dental health knowledge.
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