Oral status and its association with obesity in Southern Brazilian older people.
OBJECTIVE
The loss of a functional dentition imposes eating difficulties and food avoidance, which may be detrimental in terms of nutritional status and health. The objective of this study was to investigate whether tooth loss and edentulism that were not rehabilitated with dental prostheses were associated with obesity among elderly in Southern Brazil.


METHODS
A random sample of 872 independently living elderly was evaluated by means of a cross-sectional study. Socio-demographic, medical history and behaviour data were assessed using a standardised questionnaire. Two trained dentists assessed the number of teeth and use of prostheses in accordance with the WHO criteria. Height and weight were assessed and used to generate body mass index (BMI = weight (kilos)/height (cm)(2)) data. Participants were categorised into non-obese (BMI <or= 30) or obese (BMI > 30). Multivariate logistic regression was used to model the relationship between number of teeth and use of dental prostheses with obesity adjusting for confounders.


RESULTS
Multivariate logistic regression revealed that edentulous persons wearing only upper dentures (OR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.18-4.27) and dentate participants with one to eight teeth wearing 0-to-1 prosthesis (OR = 2.96, 95% CI 1.68-5.19) were more likely to be obese.


CONCLUSIONS
The results show that a poorer oral status, represented by having fewer teeth that were not replaced by dental prostheses, was associated with obesity in Southern Brazil older people, suggesting a close relationship between poor oral status and systemic conditions that may have important clinical implications.
Hilgert
Juliana Balbinot
JB
Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. jhilgert@gmail.com
Hugo
Fernando Neves
FN
de Sousa
Maria da Luz Rosário
Mda L
Bozzetti
Mary Clarisse
MC
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D017266:Dental Prosthesis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003827:Denture, Complete, Upper / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data