Relationship between masticatory ability and physical performance in community-dwelling edentulous older adults wearing complete dentures.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the association between masticatory ability and physical performance in community-dwelling edentulous older adults wearing complete dentures.

Background: Physical performance parameters are significant predictors of decreased activities of daily living. Previous studies have shown the relationships between oral conditions and these parameters. Here, we focused on complete denture wearers.

Methods: Two hundred and ten edentulous adults aged ≥65 years and wearing complete dentures were enrolled. The following oral conditions were examined: masticatory ability measured by colour-changing chewing gum, number of foods considered chewable, pain when using dentures and denture base fit. Handgrip strength (HG) and one-leg standing time with eyes open (OLST) were used to evaluate muscle strength and static balance. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the correlations between oral conditions and physical performance. Forward stepwise linear regression models were applied with each physical performance parameters as the dependent variable and oral conditions as the independent variable.

Results: The women did not show significant correlations between oral conditions and the physical performance. In men, significant and positive correlations were found between the number of chewable foods and HG, and between the colour scores and OLST. The significant correlation between the colour scores and OLST was still noted in the stepwise liner regression analysis after adjusting for demographic, social and medical conditions, and other oral conditions.

Conclusion: In Japanese elderly edentulous men wearing complete dentures, masticatory ability evaluated as the mixing ability may be associated with static balance.