Table 5.

Association between oral health measures and COPD exacerbation status. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios of COPD exacerbator (n=70) and non-exacerbator (n=66) status for the oral health measures

	Unadjusted OR (95% CI)	p-value	Adjusted ORa (95% CI)	p-value
Oral Health Impact Profile-5
Difficulty chewing	0.93 (0.72, 1.20)	0.58	0.88 (0.64, 1.20)	0.42
Painful ache in the mouth	0.96 (0.71, 1.31)	0.80	0.99 (0.69, 1.44)	0.96
Uncomfortable about appearance	0.97 (0.77, 1.22)	0.80	0.96 (0.72, 1.27)	0.76
Less flavor	1.00 (0.77, 1.29)	0.97	0.85 (0.62, 1.16)	0.30
Difficulty doing jobs	0.87 (0.50, 1.46)	0.59	1.18 (0.62, 2.22)	0.59
Oral symptoms
Global oral health status	1.19 (0.86, 1.65)	0.29	1.17 (0.8, 1.74)	0.42
Self-reported gum disease	0.94 (0.48, 1.85)	0.87	1.25 (0.55, 2.89)	0.59
Loose teeth	0.71 (0.36, 1.40)	0.32	0.93 (0.41, 2.14)	0.87
Bleeding gums	0.64 (0.30, 1.35)	0.24	0.39 (0.15, 0.97)	0.04
Dry mouth	2.18 (1.09, 4.43)	0.03	2.29 (0.99, 5.44)	0.05
Partial denturesb	1.00 (0.46, 2.18)	0.19	0.92 (0.36, 2.39)	0.39
Full denturesb	0.34 (0.09, 1.10)		0.37 (0.08, 1.51)
Oral care habits
Brush once per dayc	1.27 (0.49, 3.31)	0.52	0.96 (0.29, 3.07)	0.99
Brush twice or more per dayc	0.82 (0.31, 2.18)	1.01 (0.30, 3.40)
Dental visit 6–12 months agod	2.19 (0.80, 6.30)		1.40 (0.39, 5.19)	0.43
Dental visit 1–2 years agod	1.96 (0.67, 6.08)	0.33	1.88 (0.54, 6.97)
Dental visit >2 years agod	1.07 (0.47, 2.46)	0.67 (0.24, 1.80)

Notes: ^aAdjustments were for inhaler use (inhaled corticosteroids and anticholinergic inhalers) and FEV₁ % predicted. Reference categories: ^b’no dentures’, ^c’brush less than once per day’, and ^d’dental visit less than 6 months ago’. For the categorical variables, the overall p-value for the variable is listed for the first category, but applies to all categories.