title: Associations between oral health and risk of dementia in a 37-year follow-up study: the prospective population study of women in Gothenburg.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between incident dementia and previous number of teeth measured over a long interval.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of a 37-year cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women with (n = 158) and without (n = 539) dementia in 2000 to 2005.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tooth counts in 1968-69, 1980-81, and 1992-93. Covariates included age, education, stroke, myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, blood pressure, body mass index, and cholesterol level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjustment for age, odds ratios (ORs) for dementia in 2000-05, comparing first with fourth tooth count quartiles, were 1.81 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03-3.19) for tooth counts measured in 1968, 2.25 (95% CI = 1.18-4.32) for those in 1980, and 1.99 (0.92-4.30) for those in 1992. After further adjustment for education, ORs were 1.40 (95% CI = 1.03-3.19) for 1968, 1.96 (95% CI = 0.98-3.95) for 1980, and 1.59 (95% CI = 0.71-3.53) for 1992, and after additional adjustment for vascular risk factors, ORs were 1.38 (95% CI = 0.74-2.58) for 1968, 2.09 (95% CI = 1.01-4.32) for 1980, and 1.61 (95% CI = 0.70-3.68) for 1992.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In most of the analyses, lower tooth count was not associated with dementia, although a significant association was found for one of the three examinations. Further research may benefit from more-direct measures of dental and periodontal disease.
authors.affiliation: King's College London (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience), London, UK.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Stenman
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hakeberg
authors.forename: Catharina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hägglin
authors.forename: Deb
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gustafson
authors.forename: Ingmar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Skoog
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009909:Oral Health; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D012923:Social Class; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: cohort study; dementia; oral health; periodontal disease; tooth loss