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Research Paper|Volume 12, Issue 9|pp 8536—8548

The relation of poor mastication with cognition and dementia risk: a population-based longitudinal study

Christina S. Dintica1, Anna Marseglia1, Inger Wårdh2,3, Per Stjernfeldt Elgestad2,3, Debora Rizzuto1,4, Ying Shang1, Weili Xu1,5, Nancy L. Pedersen6,7
  • 1Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 3Academic Centre of Geriatric Dentistry, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 4The Stockholm Gerontology Research Center- Äldrecentrum, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 5Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
  • 6Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 7Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
* Equal contribution
Received: November 18, 2019Accepted: April 17, 2020Published: April 30, 2020
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.103156

Copyright © 2020 Dintica et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

We investigated the effect of poor masticatory ability on cognitive trajectories and dementia risk in older adults. 544 cognitively intact adults aged ≥50 were followed for up to 22 years. Cognitive domains (verbal, spatial/fluid, memory, and perceptual speed) were assessed at baseline and follow-ups. Dementia was ascertained according to standard criteria. Masticatory ability was assessed using the Eichner Index and categorized according to the number of posterior occlusal zones: A (all four), B (3-1), and C (none).

At baseline, 147 (27.0%) participants were in Eichner category A, 169 (31.1%) in B and 228 (41.9%) in C. After the age of 65, participants in Eichner category B and C showed an accelerated decline in spatial/fluid abilities (β: -0.16, 95% CI: -0.30 to -0.03) and (β: -0.15, 95% CI: -0.28 to -0.02), respectively. Over the follow-up, 52 incident dementia cases were identified. Eichner categories B or C were not associated with an increased risk of dementia, compared to category A (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.39 to 1.76 and HR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.30 to 1.29, respectively).

Poor masticatory ability is associated with an accelerated cognitive decline in fluid/spatial abilities, however it was not related to a higher risk of dementia.