Prevalence of chewing difficulty among adults and associated factors

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of chewing difficulty and associated factors in adults aged 20 to 59 years in Patos, in the State of Paraiba in the Northeast Region of Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a random sample of 532 participants. The outcome chewing impairment was assessed using the question "How often do you have difficulty eating due to problems with your teeth or dentures?". Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated using Poisson regression. The prevalence of chewing difficulty was 30.5%. An association remained between the following variables and chewing difficulty in the final multivariate models: age group, schooling, being a smoker/non-smoker, length of time since last visit to the dentist, severe tooth loss, absence of functional dentitions, dental prosthesis use, need for a dental prosthesis, oral pain, and signs and symptoms of TMJ dysfunction. The magnitude of the associations between the variables and chewing difficulty, notably tooth loss and the need for a dental prosthesis, emphasize the importance of subjective indicators for assessing the oral health status of adults and shows that chewing difficulty is associated with a range of multi-dimensional factors.