Seraj Zahra, Al-Najjar Dana, Akl Mohammed, Aladle Noorelrahman, Altijani Yousif, Zaki Ahmed, Al Kawas Sausan
College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
Int J Dent. 2017;2017:5732748. doi: 10.1155/2017/5732748. Epub 2017 Nov 14.
Cognitive decline is one of the major causes of disability among the aging population. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between oral health parameters (number of teeth, chewing ability, and presence of a denture) and cognitive function in the elderly across the UAE. Fifty persons (age ≥ 60; 71.26 ± 10.23) were enrolled in the study. Cognitive status was assessed using the standardized mini-mental state examination (SMMSE) and accordingly, cognitively normal subjects scoring ≥24 were considered as the control group and cognitively impaired individuals scoring ≤23 were considered as the low scoring group. Chewing ability was examined, number of teeth was noted, and demographical data was collected. The results of this pilot study showed that individuals with low SMMSE scores were significantly less educated ( < 0.01) and had fewer number of remaining teeth ( < 0.05) and impaired chewing ability ( < 0.05). These results demonstrate a significant link between the number of teeth, chewing ability, and cognitive function. However, this pilot study had its limitations and was the first of its kind in the UAE and Gulf region; therefore, future research addressing the limitations is needed to further explore this association.
认知能力下降是老年人群残疾的主要原因之一。本研究的目的是探讨阿联酋老年人的口腔健康参数（牙齿数量、咀嚼能力和假牙佩戴情况）与认知功能之间的关系。50人（年龄≥60岁；71.26±10.23）参与了本研究。使用标准化简易精神状态检查表（SMMSE）评估认知状态，因此，得分≥24的认知正常受试者被视为对照组，得分≤23的认知障碍个体被视为低分组。检查咀嚼能力，记录牙齿数量，并收集人口统计学数据。这项初步研究的结果表明，SMMSE得分低的个体受教育程度显著较低（<0.01），剩余牙齿数量较少（<0.05），咀嚼能力受损（<0.05）。这些结果表明牙齿数量、咀嚼能力和认知功能之间存在显著联系。然而，这项初步研究有其局限性，并且是阿联酋和海湾地区同类研究中的首个研究；因此，需要未来的研究解决这些局限性，以进一步探索这种关联。
