Relationship between masticatory performance and cognition in the community-dwelling older adults in Chanuman district, Amnat Charoen province

Abstract

Chewing performance might depend on the number of occluding teeth and have an effect on the cognitive status. However, the linkage among these factors is still not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate possible correlation between masticatory performance, number of occluding teeth and cognitive status in older adults in Chanuman district, Amnat Charoen. One hundred and ninety-two (192) older adult participants were first classified into 3 Eichner’s groups (A, B and C), and were further divided according to the number of occluding teeth into 6 modified groups. The peanut chewing and sieving method was used to evaluate masticatory performance while the Mini-Cog assessment was employed to classify the cognitive status as normal cognitive status or at-risk of cognitive impairment. Data was statistically analyzed using two-way ANOVA with multiple comparison and Spearman’s correlation. Participants with normal cognitive status showed significantly higher masticatory performance scores than those at-risk of cognitive impairment (p<0.001). Participants with greater number of occluding teeth also demonstrated significantly better masticatory performance than those with less number of occluding teeth and edentulism (p<0.001). Positive correlation was observed between masticatory performance and cognitive function scores. However, negative correlation was observed between masticatory performance and number of occluding teeth of modified group. The number of occluding teeth is a key determinant of masticatory performance and was shown to have positive correlation with cognitive function scores. Among participants with comparable number of occluding teeth, normal cognitive status group showed better masticatory performance than at-risk cognitive impairment status group.