title: Association between dentures and the rate of falls in dementia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Poor oral health, chronic diseases, functional decline, and low cognitive ability can increase the risk of falls in the elderly.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The current study aimed to show the effects of oral health, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT), heart disease, functional status, and sociodemographic factors on the risk of falls in elderly with dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample comprised 1,210 Malaysian elderly who were demented and noninstitutionalized. This study was a national cross-sectional survey entitled "Determinants of Health Status among Older Malaysians". The effects of age, ethnicity, sex differences, marital status, educational level, oral health, DM, HT, heart disease, and functional status on the risk of falls were evaluated. The multiple logistic regression model was used to estimate the effects of contributing variables on the risk of falls in samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of falls was approximately 17% in subjects. It was found that age (odds ratio [OR] 1.02), non-Malay ethnicity (OR 1.66), heart disease (OR 1.92), and functional decline (OR 1.58) significantly increased the risk of falls in respondents (P<0.05). Furthermore, having teeth (OR 0.59) and dentures (OR 0.66) significantly decreased the rate of falls (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was concluded that age, non-Malay ethnicity, functional decline, heart disease, and oral health significantly affected falls in dementia.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sima Ataollahi
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Eshkoor
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Tengku Aizan
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Hamid
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Siti Sa'adiah Hassan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Nudin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chan Yoke
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Mun
keywords: chronic diseases; dementia; fall; functional decline; oral health