title: The Influence of Age in the Relationship between Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Edentulism. The Atahualpa Project.
abstract: The association between edentulism and cerebral small vessel disease is controversial. We aimed to assess this relationship in community-dwelling older adults living in rural Ecuador.
  
  
  
  MRI was performed in 311 (81%) of 385 individuals ≥60 years enrolled in the Atahualpa Project. Participants were classified in 2 groups according to whether they have severe edentulism (<10 remaining teeth) or not. Using multivariate logistic regression and exposure effect models, we assessed whether edentulism correlated with severity of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), after adjusting for relevant confounders.
  
  
  
  Mean age of participants was 70 ± 8 years (57% women). Severe edentulism was noticed in 152 (49%) individuals and moderate-to-severe WMHs in 81 (26%). In univariate analyses, moderate-to-severe WMHs were more common among edentulous individuals (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.13-3.16, p = 0.015). Such difference became non-significant in the logistic regression model (OR 1.65, 95% CI 0.91-2.99, p = 0.098); in this model, the single relevant covariate was age. A weighted exposure effect model revealed no association of severe edentulism with moderate-to-severe WMH (average exposure effect: 0.73, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.16, p = 0.10).
  
  
  
  The relationship between edentulism and diffuse subcortical damage of vascular might be explained by the high prevalence of both variables in older adults.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo - Ecuador, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Oscar H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Del Brutto
authors.forename: Robertino M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mera
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zambrano
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D059345:Cerebral Small Vessel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003906:Developing Countries; D004484:Ecuador; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049292:Leukoaraiosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D016015:Logistic Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D013223:Statistics as Topic