Association Between Edentulism and Chronic Disease in a Brazilian Older Adult Population

To identify the chronic diseases present in Brazilian older adults that are associated with total edentulism.

This study is characterized as cross-sectional and population based. The database from the last National Health Survey (NHS) in Brazil was used to conduct the study. The study population consisted of adults aged 60 years or older. The chronic diseases analyzed were hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, asthma, rheumatism, back problems, musculoskeletal disorders, depression, schizophrenia, chronic lung diseases, cancer, and kidney failure. Chi-square test was initially used in the data analysis. Then adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance, including all covariates in the model to identify chronic diseases associated with total edentulism.

A total of 22,728 older adults were included. The prevalence of completely edentulous older adults was 31.7%. The most prevalent chronic diseases in these completely edentulous older adults were hypertension (55.5%), back problems (29.1%), and high cholesterol (26.6%). Total edentulism in older adults was associated with being female (P < .001), older age (P < .001), illiteracy (P < .001), lack of health insurance (P < .001), hypertension (P < .001), diabetes (P = .004), and cerebrovascular accident (CVA; P < .001).

Total edentulism in older adults is associated with worse socioeconomic conditions and with individuals who have hypertension, diabetes, and have suffered a stroke.