The study is part of the University of Eastern Finland’s Nutrition, Oral Health and Medication (NutOrMed) study, the results of which were reported in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dental Research.
The study sample included 250 home care clients aged 75 and over living in Eastern Finland. Participants were interviewed at their home by their own home nurse as well as a clinical nutritionist, pharmacy staff, and oral hygienist. The study looked at the incidence and background factors of eating problems in the screening of a clinical nutritionist and oral hygienist.
Eating problems are associated with decreased food intake and poor nutritional status
Eating problems were divided into anorexia, chewing problems, swallowing problems, and eating problems related to oral health. The researchers found that all of the reported eating problems were related to participants ’poorer nutritional status and decreased food intake over the past three months.
They also found that participants who rated poor oral health were more likely to report problems with chewing and swallowing. Toothlessness, on the other hand, increased the likelihood of chewing problems and oral health problems. The high number of medications used regularly was associated with anorexia and eating problems related to oral health. Toothless participants and those with toothache or problems with a denture were more likely to report eating problems in an interview with an oral hygienist. The feeling of dry mouth increased the likelihood of eating problems.
“It’s important for older people to maintain good oral health because it affects eating,” says the dentist Annina Salmithe first author of the article.
“In this study, anorexia was the most common finding, suggesting that eating problems are complex. Another thing we noticed was that clients talk about their eating problems differently with different health professionals, so eating problems need to be screened constantly and in different ways. cooperation between
Source: University of Eastern Finland
Source: The Nordic Page