BACKGROUND Oral health is closely related to both physical and psychological well-being, as it enables individuals to eat, speak, and socialize. The number of teeth is the most used indicator of oral health. Several reports document a relationship of dental status with a variety of indicators of general health but longitudinal studies employing standardized physical performance tests are infrequent in the scientific literature. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The Italian elderly participating in the Pro.V.A. longitudinal Study (3099 subjects aged 65+ at baseline, 2196 at the 5-year follow-up 1 and 1641 at the 7-year follow- up 2) underwent detailed interview and extensive clinical and instrumental examination that included validated physical performance measures. Participants were classified into 4 groups according to the number of remaining teeth: 0, 1-7, 8-19, and 20+. To explore the association of the number of remaining teeth with physical function and disability, we performed logistic regression analyses with models progressively adjusted for a wide number of covariates, namely anthropometric (gender, age, BMI), comorbidity (cardio-vascular, osteoarticular, and neurological diseases including depression), muscle strength (assessed for upper and lower limbs), lifestyle (smoking status, alcohol use, leisure time activities) and socioeconomical status (education, income, marital status, loneliness). RESULTS Dental status correlated with most comorbidities, lifestyle, and socio-economic variables at the univariate analysis at baseline and at follow-ups. A good dental status was significantly associated with better physical functioning and lower disability. The presence of 20+ teeth resulted significantly protective (reference group: 0 teeth) versus mobility-related disability (OR = 0.67), disability (OR = 0.54) and inability to perform heavy duties (OR = 0.62), at follow up 1 and low physical performance score (OR = 0.59) at follow up 2. Conversely, the detrimental effect of edentulism, explored in subjects with or without dentures, was present but not as straightforward. Conclusion. The assessment of a geriatric patient should include an oral evaluation as a good dental status is a crucial component of successful aging.

中文翻译：

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牙齿保留预示着老年人良好的身体表现。

背景技术口腔健康与身体和心理健康密切相关，因为它使个人能够进食、说话和社交。牙齿数量是口腔健康最常用的指标。一些报告记录了牙齿状况与各种总体健康指标的关系，但采用标准化身体机能测试的纵向研究在科学文献中并不常见。对象和方法 参与 Pro.VA 纵向研究的意大利老年人（基线年龄为 65 岁以上的 3099 名受试者，5 年随访 1 的 2196 名受试者，7 年随访 2 的 1641 名受试者）接受了详细的访谈和广泛的调查。临床和仪器检查，包括经过验证的身体表现测量。根据剩余牙齿数量将参与者分为4组：0、1-7、8-19和20+。为了探索剩余牙齿数量与身体功能和残疾的关系，我们对模型进行了逻辑回归分析，模型逐渐调整为多种协变量，即人体测量（性别、年龄、BMI）、合并症（心血管、骨关节、和神经系统疾病，包括抑郁症）、肌肉力量（评估上肢和下肢）、生活方式（吸烟状况、饮酒、闲暇活动）和社会经济状况（教育、收入、婚姻状况、孤独感）。结果 在基线和随访时的单变量分析中，牙齿状况与大多数合并症、生活方式和社会经济变量相关。良好的牙齿状况与更好的身体功能和较低的残疾显着相关。在随访 1 和 20 颗以上牙齿时，相对于活动相关残疾 (OR = 0.67)、残疾 (OR = 0.54) 和无法执行繁重任务 (OR = 0.62)，具有显着的保护作用（参考组：0 颗牙齿）随访时身体表现得分较低（OR = 0.59）2。相反，在有或没有假牙的受试者中探索的无牙颌的有害影响是存在的，但并不那么直接。结论。对老年患者的评估应包括口腔评估，因为良好的牙齿状况是成功老龄化的关键组成部分。