Socioeconomic Inequalities in Oral Frailty and Its Components

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Oral Health Epidemiology

Background:

• Oral frailty, characterized by declining oral function (e.g., tooth loss, chewing difficulty), is a precursor to severe functional decline.
• Socioeconomic factors are increasingly recognized as potential determinants of oral health status in aging populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of oral frailty and its components among older adults in Japan.
• To identify specific socioeconomic factors, including education, income, wealth, and pension type, associated with oral frailty.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study utilizing 2022 questionnaire data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (N=21,924, age ≥65 years).
• Oral frailty defined as ≥2 impairments: fewer teeth, dry mouth, difficulty chewing, swallowing, or speaking.
• Socioeconomic status (education, income, wealth, pension) analyzed using the Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and Relative Index of Inequality (RII) after multiple imputation for missing data.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of oral frailty was 33.6% in the study population.
• Significant socioeconomic inequalities were observed across all assessed factors.
• Wealth demonstrated the most pronounced inequality, with an adjusted SII of 0.17 and RII of 1.66.

Conclusions:

• Substantial socioeconomic disparities exist in oral frailty among Japanese older adults.
• Wealth emerged as the most significant socioeconomic determinant contributing to these inequalities in oral health.