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Association between oral health status and handgrip strength in older Korean adults

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Key summary points

AbstractSection Aim

The main objective of this study was to find the relationship between oral health status and grip strength in older adults living in the community.

AbstractSection Findings

Low handgrip strength was associated with using full dentures and remaining 0–9 teeth in older men.

AbstractSection Message

Low grip strength may serve as an important indicator of poor oral health, especially among men in late life.

Abstract

Purpose

Poor oral conditions in older adults are not limited to oral problems, which lead to physical problems. Prior research insufficiently has probed the relationship between oral health and physical function. This study investigated the relationship between oral health status and grip strength in older adults living in the community.

Methods

This study used data from the 2014–2018 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey. Oral health status was assessed by the type of dental prosthesis, the number of teeth. Grip strength was determined as the highest value among the three consecutive measurements of the dominant hand. The covariates included age, income, education, alcohol drinking, smoking, body mass index, sedentary time, comorbidity and number of caries teeth. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between oral health status and grip strength.

Results

Data on 6,437 older adults (men 2766; women 3671) were analyzed. The mean age was 72.9 ± 0.1 years. In the crude model of logistic regression analysis, both men and women had an association between full denture use and low grip strength compared to high grip strength. After controlling for covariates, the remaining 0–9 teeth was associated with low grip strength compared to high grip strength in men [odds ratio (OR) = 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03–1.88]. The use of full dentures was also associated with low grip strength compared to high grip strength in men (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09–1.98). No significant associations were found in women.

Conclusion

Low handgrip strength was associated with using full dentures and remaining 0–9 teeth in older men. Low grip strength, one of the key characteristics of sarcopenia and frailty, may serve as an important indicator of poor oral health, especially among men in late life.

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Data availability

All data files are available from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database through the following URL: https://knhanes.cdc.go.kr/knhanes/sub03/sub03_02_02.do.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164 World cup-ro, Youngtong-gu, Suwon, 16499, Republic of Korea

    Jihye Yun & Yunhwan Lee

  2. Institute on Aging, Ajou University Medical Center, Suwon, Republic of Korea

    Jihye Yun & Yunhwan Lee

Authors
  1. Jihye Yun
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Correspondence to Yunhwan Lee.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was conducted after the deliberation exemption from Ajou University Hospital's Research Ethics Committee was approved (Approval numbers: AJIRB-SBR-EXP-18-500). In addition, this study was performed in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Yun, J., Lee, Y. Association between oral health status and handgrip strength in older Korean adults. Eur Geriatr Med 11, 459–464 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-020-00318-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-020-00318-x

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