ArticleBMJ open2019
Association between the number of teeth and frailty among Chinese older adults: a nationwide cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of the number of remaining teeth on the risk of frailty: a meta-analysis.Odontology · 2026Pooled it
- The association between the number of teeth and frailty among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of edentulism on community-dwelling adults in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Associations between self-reported masticatory dysfunction and frailty: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Self-Reported Oral Health Among Elderly Immigrants Residing in Norway: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Social isolation in relation to the incidence and dynamic progression of frailty in the oldest old: a trajectory analysis of a nationwide cohort.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Association between tooth loss and geriatric syndromes in older adults: a cohort study from a rural area in eastern China.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
- Research trends in oral health and frailty studies: a bibliometric and visual analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Relationship between oral hypofunction and salivary biomarkers in older adults: a cross-sectional study.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- Article
- Dietary factors in relation to the risk of cognitive impairment and physical frailty in Chinese older adults: a prospective cohort study.European journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Childhood and adult socioeconomic status influence on late-life healthy longevity: evidence from the Chinese longitudinal healthy longevity survey.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Association between tooth loss and frailty among Chinese older adults: the mediating role of dietary diversity.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Article
- Is waist-calf circumference ratio associated with frailty in older adults? Findings from a cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Frailty mediated the association between tooth loss and mortality in the oldest old individuals: a cohort study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Number of Teeth and Denture Use Are Associated with Frailty among Chinese Older Adults: A Cohort Study Based on the CLHLS from 2008 to 2018.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023Article
- Trends and disparities in sleep quality and duration in older adults in China from 2008 to 2018: A national observational study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Observational
- The association between the number of teeth and frailty among older nursing home residents: a cross-sectional study of the CLHLS survey.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Association between dentition and frailty and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo explore the association between the number of teeth and frailty among older Chinese adults using a nationally representative sample.
designCross-sectional analysis was carried out using the 2014 wave data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, which used a targeted random-sampling design.
settingThis research was conducted in communities from nearly half of the counties and cities in 22 out of 31 provinces throughout China.
participantsOf the 6934 interviewees aged ≥65 years, the final analysis included 3635 older adults who had completed the 2014 wave survey on the variables included in the study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome variables included frailty, measured by the Frailty Index, and number of teeth. Covariates included demographic characteristics (ie, age, sex, co-residence, marital status, years of education and financial support), body mass index (BMI) and health behaviours (ie, smoking, drinking and exercise). A univariate logistic regression was used to test the factors associated with frailty. A multiple logistic regression model was used, using the frailty score as the dependent variable and the number of teeth together with significant covariates as the independent variables.
resultsThe prevalence of frailty was 27.68%. The mean number of teeth present was 9.23 (SD=10.03). The multiple logistic regression showed that older adults' demographic variables, health behaviours, BMI, tooth number and chewing pain were significantly associated with frailty. After adjusting for the covariates, older adults with fewer teeth had significantly higher odds of frailty than those with 20 or more teeth (no teeth: OR=2.07, 95% CI 1.53 to 2.80; 1 to 10 teeth: OR=1.77, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.38), except for older adults with 11 to 20 teeth (OR=1.30, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.82).
conclusionsThe presence of fewer teeth is significantly associated with frailty status among older Chinese adults. Future studies are needed to explain the specific mechanisms underlying how oral health status is associated with frailty.
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