Relationships of Oral Function Tests With Sarcopenia and Frailty in Dental Outpatients

The relationships between various oral function tests and sarcopenia or frailty remain unclear, particularly in dental outpatients.

The present study investigated the interrelationships among various oral function tests and the relationships of each oral function with sarcopenia and frailty in dental outpatients.

Patients aged 50 years or older in the Department of Prosthodontics of a university hospital were analysed. Oral function was evaluated using 11 tests and their test criteria, which included seven main tests and four alternative tests defined by the Japanese Society of Gerodontology. Sarcopenia and frailty were defined based on the Asian Sarcopenia Working Group consensus and the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study, respectively. The interrelationships among oral function tests and the relationship of each oral function with sarcopenia/frailty were evaluated, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed.

A total of 329 participants were analysed, and a correlation was observed between occlusal force and masticatory function. A multivariate analysis showed that tongue pressure correlated with sarcopenia/frailty in dental outpatients. In the ROC analysis, cut-off values were determined for sarcopenia and frailty using tongue pressure alone (28.5 and 26.9 kPa, respectively).

Further studies are needed on testing methods for oral hypofunction. Among the various oral function tests performed herein, tongue pressure demonstrated the strongest association with sarcopenia and frailty in dental outpatients, for which cut-off values were calculated.