title: Tooth loss and obstructive sleep apnea signs and symptoms in the US population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between tooth loss and signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a representative sample of the general US population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were from 7305 men and women aged ≥25 years participating in the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Tooth loss, occlusal contacts, and denture use were determined by dental examination. Four cardinal OSA signs and symptoms were evaluated by questions based on American Academy of Sleep Medicine criteria. Adults with ≥2 signs/symptoms of OSA were classified at high-risk of OSA. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95 % confidence limits (CL) from log binomial regression models estimated the strength of association between tooth loss and high-risk for OSA, adjusting for demographic characteristics, body mass index, dentures, and sleep duration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prevalence of high-risk for OSA increased 2 % for each additional lost tooth (PR = 1.02, 95 % CL, 1.01, 1.03) among adults aged 25 to 65 years. When tooth loss was modeled as an ordinal variable with 0-4 lost teeth as the referent category, adjusted prevalence of high-risk for OSA was as follows: 25 % greater in those missing 5-8 teeth (PR = 1.25, 95 % CL, 1.07, 1.46); 36 % greater in those missing 9-31 teeth (PR = 1.36, 95 % CL, 1.06, 1.73); and 61 % greater in the edentulous (PR = 1.61, 95 % CL, 1.11, 2.33).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tooth loss may be an independent risk factor for OSA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Ecology, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 385 S. Columbia Street, Room 4502, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7455, USA. anne_sanders@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Aderonke A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Akinkugbe
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Ecology, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 385 S. Columbia Street, Room 4502, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7455, USA.
authors.forename: Gary D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Slade
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics and Center for Pain Research and Innovation, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7455, USA.
authors.forename: Greg K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Essick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012306:Risk; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Epidemiology; NHANES; Oral health; Population; Sleep-disordered breathing; Tooth loss