Department of Clinical Specialistic and Dental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Tronto 10/A, 60126 Ancona, Italy.
Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 15;18(24):13232. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182413232.
The global population aged over 60 will double by 2050. This pilot cross-sectional study aims at evaluating nutritional and oral health status and the prevalence of sarcopenia in older adults living in an Italian residential aged care facility. Thirty-two adults aged ≥65 years were included. Individual sociodemographic data and nutritional and oral health data were collected. For sarcopenia diagnosis, muscle mass, physical performance, muscle strength and anthropometric parameters were recorded. Participants underwent a nutritional screening and a dental examination. Mini Nutritional Assessment and masticatory mixing ability test were performed. The results showed that men recorded a hand strength significantly higher than that of women, 25.5 ± 7.2 Kg vs. 12.8 ± 5.9 Kg ( < 0.01), respectively. Gait speed test showed that only 20.8% of the participants had a speed of more than 0.8 m/s. A strong negative correlation between masticatory performance and the number of missing teeth was detected (r = -0.84, 95% C.I. [-0.92; -0.69], < 0.01). Overall, a high percentage of institutionalized older adults were diagnosed as being sarcopenic. Poor oral health in older adults is a major general health problem as it may restrict both food selection and nutrient intake, representing a risk factor for sarcopenia, although longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this relationship.
到 2050 年，全球 60 岁以上人口将翻一番。这项前瞻性的横断面研究旨在评估居住在意大利养老院的老年人的营养和口腔健康状况以及肌少症的流行情况。共纳入 32 名年龄≥65 岁的成年人。收集了个体社会人口统计学数据以及营养和口腔健康数据。为了诊断肌少症，记录了肌肉质量、身体表现、肌肉力量和人体测量参数。参与者接受了营养筛查和牙科检查。进行了 Mini Nutritional Assessment 和咀嚼混合能力测试。结果显示，男性的手部力量明显高于女性，分别为 25.5 ± 7.2 Kg 和 12.8 ± 5.9 Kg（<0.01）。步态速度测试显示，只有 20.8%的参与者速度超过 0.8 m/s。咀嚼性能与缺牙数量之间存在很强的负相关（r = -0.84，95%置信区间[-0.92；-0.69]，<0.01）。总体而言，机构化的老年人群中有很大比例被诊断为肌少症。老年人的口腔健康状况不佳是一个主要的整体健康问题，因为它可能限制食物选择和营养摄入，成为肌少症的一个风险因素，尽管需要进行纵向研究来证实这种关系。
