Tadashi Okada1, Kazunori Ikebe1, Ryosuke Kagawa1, Chisato Inomata1, Hajime Takeshita1, Yasuyuki Gondo2, Yoshiko Ishioka3, Hitomi Okubo4, Kei Kamide5,6, Yukie Masui3, Ryutaro Takahashi3, Yasumichi Arai7, William Murray Thomson8, Yoshinobu Maeda1. 1. Department of Prosthodontics, Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. 2. Department of Clinical Thanatology and Geriatric Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. 3. Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan. 4. Department of Health Promotion, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan. 5. School of Allied Health Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. 6. Department of Geriatric Medicine and Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. 7. School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. 8. Sir John Walsh Institute, Department of Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between lower extremity motor function and occlusion in older adults and to examine the possibility of dietary intake of protein mediating the association. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, population-based study. SETTING: Urban and rural area in Japan. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling septuagenarians (N = 655) and octogenarians (N = 629). MEASUREMENTS: Information was collected on occlusal force, protein intake, grip strength, walking speed, sociodemographic characteristics, and medical history. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between walking speed, occlusal force, and protein intake, and structural equation modeling analysis and mediation analysis were performed to investigate the validity of the hypothesized model and identify the indirect effect of protein intake in occlusal force and walking speed. RESULTS: The proportion of participants whose walking speed was 0.8 m/s or slower (slow walking speed) was 27.7%. Logistic regression analyses showed that slower walking speed was associated with occlusal force (odds ratio = 1.57, P = .001) after adjusting for medical history, body mass index, grip strength, and protein intake. The fit of the hypothesized model that walking speed was associated with occlusal force through protein intake was good, and the indirect effect was significant. CONCLUSION: Slower walking speed was associated with lower occlusal force. Lower protein intake mediated the association between walking speed and occlusal force. Maintaining occlusal force might prevent insufficient nutrition intake and further deterioration of motor function in older people.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between lower extremity motor function and occlusion in older adults and to examine the possibility of dietary intake of protein mediating the association. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, population-based study. SETTING: Urban and rural area in Japan. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling septuagenarians (N = 655) and octogenarians (N = 629). MEASUREMENTS: Information was collected on occlusal force, protein intake, grip strength, walking speed, sociodemographic characteristics, and medical history. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between walking speed, occlusal force, and protein intake, and structural equation modeling analysis and mediation analysis were performed to investigate the validity of the hypothesized model and identify the indirect effect of protein intake in occlusal force and walking speed. RESULTS: The proportion of participants whose walking speed was 0.8 m/s or slower (slow walking speed) was 27.7%. Logistic regression analyses showed that slower walking speed was associated with occlusal force (odds ratio = 1.57, P = .001) after adjusting for medical history, body mass index, grip strength, and protein intake. The fit of the hypothesized model that walking speed was associated with occlusal force through protein intake was good, and the indirect effect was significant. CONCLUSION: Slower walking speed was associated with lower occlusal force. Lower protein intake mediated the association between walking speed and occlusal force. Maintaining occlusal force might prevent insufficient nutrition intake and further deterioration of motor function in older people.