Kelekar Uma, Pan Xi, Philippou Elena, Muhammad T, Heyn Patricia C, Wu Bei
School of Business, College of Business, Innovation, Leadership and Technology, Marymount University, Arlington, VA, USA.
Center for Optimal Aging, Marymount University, Arlington, VA , United States.
Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 16;15(1):13183. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-90756-z.
Given India's rise in ageing population and emerging epidemiological evidence of the possible association between poor oral health and cognitive impairment, the present study examined associations between oral health measures and cognitive function using a cross-sectional dataset from Longitudinal Aging Study in India, 2017-2018. Analysis included 56,738 participants aged ≥ 45 years old. Self-reported physician-diagnosed oral health measures included loss of teeth (some or all), presence of painful teeth, ulcers, bleeding and swelling gums, loose teeth, dental cavities or caries, and soreness or cracks in the corners of the mouth. Cognitive function was assessed using a battery of neurocognitive tests across five domains: memory, orientation, arithmetic function, executive function, and object naming. Findings from multivariable regression models revealed that participants who lost all their teeth had lower cognition scores by 0.65 points [β= -0.65, 95% CI: -0.97, -0.33] than those who had not lost any teeth. An unexpected positive association was found between three or more oral conditions and cognitive performance [β = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.77] that needs further investigation. Findings suggest that oral health is associated with cognitive function and there is a need to promote policies targeted at improving the oral health infrastructure and health education.
鉴于印度老年人口的增加以及有新的流行病学证据表明口腔健康状况不佳与认知障碍之间可能存在关联，本研究利用2017 - 2018年印度纵向老龄化研究的横断面数据集，考察了口腔健康指标与认知功能之间的关联。分析纳入了56738名年龄≥45岁的参与者。自我报告的经医生诊断的口腔健康指标包括牙齿缺失（部分或全部）、牙痛、溃疡、牙龈出血和肿胀、牙齿松动、龋齿以及嘴角酸痛或皲裂。认知功能通过一系列涵盖五个领域的神经认知测试进行评估：记忆、定向、算术功能、执行功能和物体命名。多变量回归模型的结果显示，牙齿全部缺失的参与者的认知得分比未失牙的参与者低0.65分[β = -0.65，95%置信区间：-0.97，-0.33]。在三种或更多口腔状况与认知表现之间发现了意外的正相关[β = 0.53，95%置信区间：0.28，0.77]，这需要进一步研究。研究结果表明，口腔健康与认知功能相关，有必要推动旨在改善口腔健康基础设施和健康教育的政策。
