The study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics
Society, looked at 3,166 adults aged 60 or over from the English
Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and compared their performance in tests of
memory and walking speed. The results showed that the people with none of their
own teeth performed approximately 10% worse in both memory and walking speed
tests than the people with teeth.
The association between total tooth loss and memory was explained
after the results were fully adjusted for a wide range of factors, such as
sociodemographic characteristics, existing health problems, physical health,
health behaviours, such as smoking and drinking, depression, relevant biomarkers,
and particularly socioeconomic status. However, after adjusting for all
possible factors, people without teeth still walked slightly slower than those
with teeth.
These links between older adults in England losing all natural teeth
and having poorer memory and worse physical function 10 years later were more
evident in adults aged 60 to 74 years than in those aged 75 and older.
“Tooth loss could be used as an early marker of mental and physical
decline in older age, particularly among 60-74 year-olds,” says lead author Dr
Georgios Tsakos (UCL Epidemiology &
Public Health). “We find that common causes of tooth loss and mental and
physical decline are often linked to socioeconomic status, highlighting the
importance of broader social determinants such as education and wealth to
improve the oral and general health of the poorest members of society.
“Regardless of what is behind the link between tooth loss and
decline in function, recognising excessive tooth loss presents an opportunity
for early identification of adults at higher risk of faster mental and physical
decline later in their life. There are many factors likely to influence this
decline, such as lifestyle and psychosocial factors, which are amenable to
change.”