Dental Caries in Older Adults in the Last Year of Life
| Autor: | Jennifer J.J. Clark, Stephen K. Shuman, Supawadee Naorungroj, Xi Chen, John S. Preisser |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Oral Hygiene Index Cross-sectional study Minnesota Dentistry Dental Caries Rate ratio Oral hygiene National Death Index Article Dental Care for Aged Disability Evaluation stomatognathic system Carious teeth Risk Factors Medicine Humans Geriatric Assessment Aged Aged 80 and over business.industry Incidence (epidemiology) Incidence Dental Records stomatognathic diseases Cross-Sectional Studies Female Geriatrics and Gerontology business |
| Popis: | BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES—Older adults experience dramatic declines in health and function at the end of life. These complex physiological, psychological and functional changes may substantially increase risk of dental caries. This study’s objective was to examine dental caries severity (measured by number of carious teeth) in older adults in the last year of life. DESIGN—Cross-sectional study based on dental records. SETTING—A community-based geriatric dental clinic. PARTICIPANTS—1216 older adults aged 65 or above, including 168 individuals in the last year of life (e.g., individuals died within one year after their new patient exams). MEASUREMENTS—Participants’ socioeconomics, medical history, medications, functional status and oral health measures, including number of carious teeth, were abstracted from dental records. End-of-life status was determined using the National Death Index. Propensities of death were first calculated using a logistic regression, then adjusted together with mobility and oral care function in the multivariable regression model to examine the impact of end-of-life status on dental caries. RESULTS—Caries severity differed in end-of-life participants with different oral care function. Among those needing help with oral care, end-of-life participants had only slightly elevated and non-statistically significant risk (7.5 vs. 6.1, adjusted IDR= 1.12, 95% CI=0.85–1.48) to have more carious teeth than those not in the last year of life. However, caries severity decreased among end-of-life participants without impaired oral care function (IDR=0.53, 95% CI: 0.30–0.92). CONCLUSION—Oral care function modifies the association between caries severity and end-of-life status. Individuals who could maintain oral hygiene independently had a relatively low level of caries at the end of life; however, dental caries had increased before functionally-dependent patients entered their last year of life. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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