Oral health and changes in weight and waist circumference among community-dwelling older adults in Brazil

BACKGROUND: The authors conducted a study to evaluate the association between changes in weight and waist circumference (WC) and oral health status among older adults in Brazil. METHODS: The study sample consisted of community-dwelling people representing the population 60 years and older in the city of São Paulo who were enrolled in the Health, Well-being and Aging cohort study. Changes in weight and WC were classified as stable (within 5 percent of the second-wave weight and WC), loss (5 percent or more decrease since the second wave) and gain (5 percent or more increase since the second wave). The following baseline characteristics were the independent variables: sociodemographic variables (age, sex and education), general health data (number of self-reported chronic diseases, physical activity, weight, WC and smoking status) and oral health (edentulism, need for dental prostheses). RESULTS: The incidence of weight (33.2 percent) and WC (35.3 percent) gain was higher than that of loss (13.5 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively). Neither weight nor WC gains were associated with dental status. The risk of weight and WC loss was higher among edentulous participants than among dentate participants. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that edentulism status was a significant predictor of weight and WC loss, independent of socioeconomic and general health status. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Edentulism has a significant impact on weight and WC, which highlights the importance of an integrated approach to health care among health care professionals