Development and validation of a chewing function questionnaire for Chinese older adults

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Dental Science
• Oral Health Assessment

Background:

• Chewing function is crucial for nutrition and quality of life in older adults.
• Assessing chewing ability in Chinese older adults requires culturally relevant and validated tools.
• Existing methods may not fully capture the nuances of self-reported chewing difficulties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a unidimensional chewing function questionnaire (CFQ) for Chinese older adults.
• To ensure the questionnaire is reliable and accurately reflects chewing ability.
• To provide a practical tool for clinicians assessing oral function.

Main Methods:

• Validated the CFQ on 211 Chinese older adults from diverse settings in Hong Kong.
• Participants rated their ability to chew 20 food items and their overall chewing ability.
• Objective measures included chewing a color-changeable gum and maximum bite force assessment.

Main Results:

• The final CFQ included 10 food items and demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.912).
• Objective chewing assessments (gum color change, bite force) correlated significantly with CFQ scores.
• The questionnaire showed strong validity in assessing self-rated chewing ability.

Conclusions:

• The developed CFQ is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the chewing function of Chinese older adults.
• This questionnaire can aid dentists in identifying patients needing oral function rehabilitation.
• It facilitates discussions about treatment options like dental prostheses.