Chewing Disability Is Associated With Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Public Health

Background:

• Chewing disability is linked to reduced quality of life, depression, and cognitive impairment in older adults.
• The mediating role of depression in the chewing ability-cognition relationship is not well understood.
• This study investigates the association between chewing disability and incident cognitive impairment, exploring depression as a potential mediator.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between chewing disability and the development of cognitive impairment in older persons.
• To investigate the potential mediating role of depression in this relationship.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 973 older adults without cognitive impairment at baseline from the Panel on Health and Ageing of Singaporean Elderly.
• Chewing disability was the exposure, and incident cognitive impairment was the outcome over a 6-year period.
• Marginal structural modeling was used to analyze the time-varying effect of chewing disability on cognitive impairment, with depression as a mediator, controlling for various confounders.

Main Results:

• After 6 years, 11% of participants developed cognitive impairment, and 33% reported chewing disability.
• Chewing disability was significantly associated with a 43% increased odds of developing cognitive impairment (OR 1.43, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.87).
• While chewing disability directly explained 85.3% of the risk, 14.7% of this association could potentially be eliminated if depression were absent.

Conclusions:

• An association exists between chewing disability and cognitive impairment in older adults.
• The precise mediating role of depression requires further elucidation.
• Oral health assessment should be integrated into geriatric care to identify risks for systemic conditions.