Ability to chew as we age effects cardiovascular health
Cardiovascular health can be negatively affected by the deterioration of functional chewing capacity in older adults, according to findings published in Clinical Nutrition.
Cardiovascular health can be negatively affected by the deterioration of functional chewing capacity in older adults, according to findings published in Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers assessed the chewing capacity and cardiovascular health of 5,011 adults (mean age, 59 years; 36.8% women) without cardiovascular disease (CVD) from the Paris Prospective Study 3. Participants underwent an oral examination in addition to a standard medical examination at the Centre d’Investigations Préventives et Cliniques between June 2008 and May 2012.
Behavioral cardiovascular health was defined via assessments of smoking behavior, BMI, physical activity level, and diet. Biological cardiovascular health was defined via measurements of total cholesterol, glycemia, and blood pressure. During the oral examination, functional tooth units were measured and used to assess chewing capacity, with a reading of at least five equating to “adequate” chewing capacity, according to the researchers.
Ideal cardiovascular health, which was reached by meeting requirements for five or more of the seven categories, occurred more frequently than poor cardiovascular health in those with a chewing capacity of five functional tooth units or more. However, the researchers noted that chewing capacity was associated with overall cardiovascular health based on behavioral factors only. In addition, a higher percentage of participants with ideal CV health reached the threshold of five functional tooth units versus those with poor cardiovascular health (96.89% vs. 91.84%).
The odds a participant would have ideal smoking behavior, which meant not smoking in the previous year, were higher than having poor smoking behavior in those with five functional tooth units or more. Similarly, those with five functional tooth units or more had improved odds for a BMI of less than 25 kg/m2 compared with higher BMI measures. When compared with the odds for an unhealthy diet, those with five functional tooth units or more had improved odds for an ideal diet, defined as frequent consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fish and less than 1,500 mg sodium per day, according to the researchers.
“Our finding of an association between chewing capacity and cardiovascular [health] raises several public health implications. Tooth loss and its main cause, i.e., oral diseases, are highly prevalent worldwide, but largely preventable by promoting regular dental care networks and lower sugar containing food availability,” wrote the researchers. “Global strategies aimed at preventing tooth loss and replacing missing teeth by dental prosthesis are crucial to maintain chewing capacity and could contribute towards increasing the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular [health] in adulthood.”