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Updated: Jun 26, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Association between food insecurity and edentulism for older adults: A pilot study
Sophie R Li1,2, Jane J Lee3, Lloyd A Mancl1,2
1Department of Oral Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Objectives:
This pilot study examined the association between food insecurity and edentulism among older adults in Washington State.
Methods:
This study focused on adults aged 50 years and older, who were recruited through seven community-based organizations in Washington State. The exposure variable was food security level (high, marginal, and low/very low food security) assessed using the 10-item U.S. Adult Food Security Survey. The outcome was edentulism, defined as having zero natural teeth. Confounder-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were generated using binary logistic regression models (α = 0.05).
Results:
Of the 216 participants, 28.7% (n = 62) had low/very low food security and 7.9% (n = 17) had zero teeth. Older adults with low or very low food security had greater odds of being edentulous compared to those with marginal or high food security, although the difference was not statistically significant (OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 0.46, 4.20; p = 0.56).
Conclusions:
Future research should explore food insecurity-focused interventions aimed at preventing edentulism in older adults in a broader effort to address oral health inequities.
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