Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the study population according to the presence of oral frailty.
| Total | Oral Frailty | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (-) | (+) | |||
| n = 466 | n = 399 | n = 67 | p-Value | |
| n of teeth, median (IQR) | 24 (16–27) | 25 (20–27) | 11 (6–18) | <0.01 |
| Masticatory performance (mm2), median (IQR) | 4396 (2570–5656) | 4643 (3251–5834) | 1343 (499–3374) | <0.01 |
| Oral-DDK ‘‘ta’’ (times/s), median (IQR) | 6.1 (0.8) | 6.1 (0.7) | 5.7 (1.1) | <0.01 |
| TP (kPa), median (IQR) | 33.7 (8.2) | 34.3 (7.8) | 30.4 (9.7) | <0.01 |
| Difficulties eating tough foods, n (%) | 70 (15.0%) | 33 (8.3%) | 37 (55.2%) | <0.01 |
| Difficulties in swallowing tea or soup, n (%) | 108 (23.2%) | 74 (18.5%) | 34 (50.7%) | <0.01 |
| Denture use, n (%) | 217 (46.6%) | 163 (40.9%) | 54 (80.6%) | <0.01 |
| Age, mean (SD) | 76.4 (4.1) | 76.3 (4.1) | 76.8 (4.3) | 0.39 |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.35 | |||
| Women | 275 (59.0%) | 232 (58.1%) | 43 (64.2%) | |
| Men | 191 (41.0%) | 167 (41.9%) | 24 (35.8%) | |
| Body weight (kg), mean (SD) | 58.2 (8.9) | 58.3 (9.1) | 57.6 (8.3) | 0.55 |
| Height (cm), mean (SD) | 156.2 (8.6) | 156.4 (8.7) | 154.9 (7.8) | 0.21 |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 23.8 (2.6) | 23.8 (2.6) | 24.0 (2.7) | 0.59 |
| Educational status (years of schooling), median (IQR) | 12 (12–16) | 12 (12–16) | 12 (12–14) | 0.22 |
| Annual income < 3 million JPY, n (%) | 271 (58.2%) | 225 (56.4%) | 46 (68.7%) | 0.06 |
| Current smoker, n (%) | 35 (7.5%) | 26 (6.5%) | 9 (13.4%) | 0.05 |
| Daily drinker, n (%) | 62 (13.3%) | 53 (13.3%) | 9 (13.4%) | 0.97 |
| Low physical activity, n (%) | 310 (66.5%) | 258 (64.7%) | 52 (77.6%) | 0.04 |
| Poor appetite, n (%) | 165 (35.4%) | 131 (32.8%) | 34 (50.7%) | 0.01 |
| Social isolation, n (%) | 178 (38.2%) | 149 (37.3%) | 29 (43.3%) | 0.35 |
| Living alone, n (%) | 164 (35.2%) | 134 (33.6%) | 30 (44.8%) | 0.08 |
| JST-IC, median (IQR) | 11 (9–13) | 12 (10–13) | 10 (9–12) | <0.01 |
| Number of comorbidities, median (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–2) | 2 (1–3) | 0.10 |
| Polypharmacy, n (%) | 119 (25.5%) | 104 (26.1%) | 15 (22.4%) | 0.52 |
| Depressive symptoms, n (%) | 60 (12.9%) | 40 (10.0%) | 20 (29.9%) | <0.01 |
| Cognitive impairment, n (%) | 19 (4.1%) | 18 (4.5%) | 1 (1.5%) | 0.25 |
BMI, body mass index; IQR, interquartile range; JPY, Japanese Yen; JST-IC, Japan Science and Technology Agency Index of Competence; MNA®-SF, Mini Nutritional Assessment®-Short Form; oral-DDK, oral diadochokinesis; SD, standard deviation; TP, tongue pressure.