Department of Health Promotion, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan.
J Oral Rehabil. 2012 Aug;39(8):568-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2842.2012.02302.x. Epub 2012 Apr 17.
Increasing need for long-term care in older adults is expected with the ageing of Japan's population. The aim of the present study was to show the relationship between perceived chewing ability and long-term care needs for over 5 years in elderly persons. The chewing ability of 812 elderly persons living independently was evaluated at baseline using self-assessed masticatory ability, and it was classified into one of three categories: ability to chew all foods (good masticatory ability), ability to chew only slightly hard food (fair masticatory ability), and ability to only chew soft or pureed food (poor masticatory ability). Participants' care needs were then followed through Japan's long-term care insurance system for over 5 years. The log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard model were used to examine statistical differences in the frequency of care-needs certification between participants with good and fair or poor masticatory ability. Among participants aged 65-79 years, the frequency of care-needs certification was significantly higher in those with fair or poor masticatory ability than in those with good masticatory ability, and the relative hazard ratio was significantly higher in those with fair or poor masticatory ability than in those with good masticatory ability, after adjusting for age, gender, current employment status, educational background, social interaction, chronic medical conditions and dentition status. These relationships were not found among those aged 80-93 years. Impairment in perceived chewing ability may be associated with higher incidence of certification in Japan's long-term care insurance system among elderly persons aged 65-79.
随着日本人口老龄化，预计老年人对长期护理的需求将增加。本研究旨在展示老年人自我感知的咀嚼能力与 5 年以上长期护理需求之间的关系。在基线时，使用自我评估的咀嚼能力评估了 812 名独立生活的老年人的咀嚼能力，并将其分为以下三类：能咀嚼所有食物（咀嚼能力良好）、仅能咀嚼稍硬食物（咀嚼能力一般）和仅能咀嚼软食或泥状食物（咀嚼能力差）。然后，通过日本长期护理保险系统对参与者的护理需求进行了 5 年以上的随访。使用对数秩检验和 Cox 比例风险模型来检验咀嚼能力良好和一般或差的参与者在护理需求认证频率方面的统计学差异。在 65-79 岁的参与者中，咀嚼能力一般或差的参与者的护理需求认证频率显著高于咀嚼能力良好的参与者，且在调整了年龄、性别、当前就业状况、教育背景、社会交往、慢性疾病和牙齿状况后，咀嚼能力一般或差的参与者的相对危险比显著高于咀嚼能力良好的参与者。在 80-93 岁的参与者中未发现这种关系。自我感知的咀嚼能力受损可能与 65-79 岁老年人在日本长期护理保险系统中的认证发生率较高有关。
