title: Factors associated with self-assessed masticatory ability among community-dwelling elderly Japanese.
abstract: Self-assessed masticatory ability has been shown to be significantly related to general health among elderly persons.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify oral factors associated with the self-assessed masticatory ability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 736 community-dwelling elderly persons.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on background factors and the self-assessed masticatory ability were collected by questionnaire. An intraoral examination examined the pattern of posterior occluding pairs of natural teeth (POPs), the WHO Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPI) and denture-related factors such as use of dentures, pain when using dentures and stability and retention of dentures. Chi-squared tests examined the relationships between the self-assessed masticatory ability and the background factors and oral conditions. Ordinal regression models were constructed with the self-assessed masticatory ability as the dependent variable and oral conditions as the principal independent variables, to adjust for the potential confounding variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-assessed impairment of masticatory ability was associated with lost POPs (p < 0.001) and CPI (p = 0.012). In the participants with lost POPs, self-assessed impairment of masticatory ability was associated with not using dentures and pain when using dentures (p < 0.001). In the totally edentulous subjects, impairment of masticatory ability was not associated with stability and retention of dentures (p = 0.070).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Factors affecting self-assessed masticatory ability include the pattern of POPs, periodontal status, denture use and pain when using dentures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion, National Institute of Public Health, Japan. shyomi@niph.go.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moriya
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tei
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miura
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001641:Bicuspid / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003781:Denture Retention; D003778:Dentures; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000145:classification; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D008963:Molar / Q000473:pathology; D010512:Periodontal Index; D012647:Self-Assessment; D058992:Social Participation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires