Table 3.
Odds ratios and 95% CI for the associations of oral health markers with weak grip strength and slow gait speed in older people in the Newcastle 85+ Study
| Oral health markers | Weak Grip Strengtha | Slow Gait Speedb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age-adjustedc | Fully-adjustedd | Age-adjustedc | Fully-adjustedd | |||
| N (%) | OR (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | N (%) | OR (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | |
| Dry mouth symptoms | ||||||
| No | 106 (31) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 95 (28) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Yes | 160 (35) | 1.21 (0.89,1.63) | 1.04 (0.74,1.48) e | 190 (43) | 1.91 (1.41,2.58) | 1.64 (1.13,2.38) e |
| Difficulty swallowing | ||||||
| No | 210 (31) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 217 (33) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Yes | 58 (45) | 1.78 (1.22,2.61) | 1.36 (0.87,2.13) | 70 (58) | 3.38 (2.17,5.26) | 2.52 (1.56,4.08) |
| Difficulty Eating | ||||||
| Severe difficulty eating | ||||||
| 0 to 2 foods | 229 (31) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 247 (35) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 3 to 10 foods | 39 (51) | 2.30 (1.43,3.72) | 1.89 (1.08,3.30) | 40 (55) | 2.28 (1.40,3.72) | 2.39 (1.33,4.29) |
| Any trouble eating hard foods | ||||||
| 0 to 2 foods | 162 (29) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 166 (31) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 3 to 10 foods | 106 (42) | 1.75 (1.27,2.39) | 1.66 (1.16,2.36) | 121 (50) | 2.24 (1.64,3.07) | 2.44 (1.70,3.51) |
| Number of teeth | ||||||
| ≥ 21 teeth | 17 (24) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 18 (25) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 1–20 teeth | 27 (29) | 1.43 (0.79,2.62) | 1.39 (0.72,2.65) | 35 (38) | 1.39 (0.77,2.50) | 1.30 (0.67,2.55) |
| 0 teeth | 37 (35) | 1.84 (1.03,3.30) | 1.85 (0.97,3.51) | 27 (25) | 2.08 (1.18,3.70) | 1.86 (0.97,3.60) |
| Partial tooth loss | ||||||
| ≥ 21 teeth | 253 (35) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 271 (38) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| < 21 teeth | 17 (24) | 1.67 (0.95,2.94) | 1.62 (0.87,3.00) | 18 (25) | 1.77 (1.02,3.09) | 1.59 (0.84,3.01) |
| Complete tooth loss | ||||||
| 1 or more teeth | 160 (37) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 176 (42) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| No teeth | 110 (30) | 1.37 (1.01,1.85) | 1.42 (1.00,2.02) | 113 (31) | 1.60 (1.19,2.16) | 1.50 (1.05,2.14) |
a Defined as values falling in the lowest tertile of the grip strength distribution. bDefined as values falling in the highest tertile of the TUG distribution. c Adjusted for age and sex. dAdjusted for age, sex, BMI, alcohol intake, smoking status, social class, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, neuropsychiatric disease and other health conditions (cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, musculoskeletal disease, and cancer diagnosis in the last 5 years). eAdditionally adjusted for depression and taking medications with dry mouth as side effect