title: Oral conditions and dysphagia in Japanese, community-dwelling middle- and older- aged adults, independent in daily living.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prevention, early detection and effective rehabilitation of dysphagia are important issues to be considered in an aging society. Previous studies have shown conflicting findings regarding the association between dysphagia and its potential risk factors, including age, malnutrition, oral conditions, lifestyle and medical history. Herein, we assessed the prevalence and association of dysphagia with potential risk factors in 50- to 79-year-old adults dwelling in a community in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, there were 532 participants (185 males and 347 females). Participants who responded positively to the question "Do you sometimes choke on drinks/food such as tea and soup?" or those who presented with abnormal repetitive saliva swallowing test findings were diagnosed with dysphagia. The data collected from these participants included the following: number of teeth, occurrence of oral dryness, age, body mass index, serum albumin concentration, smoking, drinking and exercise habits, presence of diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and questions from the Mini-Mental State Examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dysphagia was observed in 33 males (17.8%) and 76 females (21.9%). To explore the effect of the potential risk factors on the prevalence of dysphagia, a model was built by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Using the forced entry method, oral dryness (odds ratio [OR] =3.683 andP=0.003 in males; OR =1.797 andP=0.032 in females) and the number of teeth (OR =0.946 andP=0.038 in males) were found to be significantly related to dysphagia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This cross-sectional study demonstrated associations between oral conditions and dysphagia. Factors such as oral dryness and number of teeth may contribute to dysphagia more so than aging, lifestyle and comorbidity in community-dwelling adults over the age of 50.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
authors.forename: Akinari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inui
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine.
authors.forename: Ippei
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine.
authors.forename: Sizuka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurauchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Soma
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.affiliation: COI Research Initiatives Organization, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan.
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murashita
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine.
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakaji
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009909:Oral Health; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: lifestyle; number of teeth; nutrition; oral dryness; swallow