Association of Fried Frailty Phenotype With Occlusal Status, Health‐Related Quality of Life, and Nutritional Status Among Older Adults Living in Long‐Term Care
Martyna Zórawna, Päivi Mäntylä, Riitta K. T. Saarela, Kaisu H. Pitkälä, Hannu Kautiainen, Satu K. Jyväkorpi, Kaija HiltunenABSTRACT
Background
The associations between frailty, occlusal status, health‐related quality of life (HRQoL), and nutritional status in long‐term care (LTC) residents remain poorly understood.
Objective
To examine the relationship between frailty, occlusal status, HRQoL, and nutritional status.
Methods
The Finnish Oral Health Studies in Older Adults (FINORAL; N = 393) is part of a larger LTC nutrition project, and occlusal data were available for 247 participants. Frailty was defined using the Fried frailty phenotype (FFP), classifying individuals as prefrail or frail. Occlusal status was categorised by contact units (CUs): ≥ 10 natural tooth‐to‐tooth CUs (Gr1), < 10 (Gr2), CUs with removable dentures (Gr3), and no CUs (Gr4). HRQoL was measured with the 15D instrument. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), dietary intake, muscle mass (bioimpedance spectroscopy), and body mass index (BMI). Associations between frailty and occlusal status were analysed using multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, education, and MNA. Interaction effects on HRQoL were assessed using two‐way ANOVA.
Results
Prefrailty was most common in Gr1 and Gr3. Compared with Gr1, odds of frailty were higher in Gr2 (OR 3.43, 95% CI 1.18–9.96) and Gr4 (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.02–9.34). The effect of frailty on HRQoL did not differ across Gr1‐4 ( p = 0.38). Prefrail participants had higher HRQoL, BMI, muscle mass, and were rarely malnourished than frail.
Conclusions
Lower risk of being frail is associated with adequate CUs. Frailty negatively impacts HRQoL, whereas occlusal status does not modify this association. Prefrailty is linked to better nutritional status and body composition.