Investigation on relationship among oral health, appetite, and malnutrition of elderly people using structural equation modeling

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K17286
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 57080:Social dentistry-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Suma Shino 九州大学, 歯学研究院, 助教 (70759365)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 口腔状態 / 食欲 / 低栄養 / 高齢者

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study’s purpose was to explore the indicators of oral health that were most related to nutritional status and appetite, along with their combinations, as well as to examine how these associations varied. Therefore, we analyzed how oral health, appetite, and malnutrition were related to each other in community-dwelling older people (n=344). The results showed that some variables relating to oral health were significantly associated with factors of the appetite assessment index after adjustment. Furthermore, covariance structure analysis revealed that the association between the latent variable "oral health," which consists of variables such as oral health and nutritional status, was mediated by appetite.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究で得られた食欲を考慮した口腔状態と低栄養の関連は、幅広い高齢者が使用できる水準化された食支援方法を構築するための確立した評価方法の作成に有用であると考えられる。さらに、特に口腔状態を詳細に検討しているため、専門的な医療を受けない高齢者でも、歯科医院に来院することによって低栄養の予防ができるものになると考えられ、本研究は社会的に大きな意味を持つと考えらえる。