J Korean Med Sci.  2024 Sep;39(36):e246. 10.3346/jkms.2024.39.e246.

Masticatory Function, Sex, and Risk of Dementia Among Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study

• Oh DJ
• Han JW
• Kim JS
• Kim TH
• Kwak KP
• Kim BJ
• Kim SG
• Kim JL
• Moon SW
• Park JH
• Ryu SH
• Youn JC
• Lee DY
• Lee DW
• Lee SB
• Lee JJ
• Jhoo JH
• Kim KW

• KMID: 2559772
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2024.39.e246

Abstract

Background
A decline in masticatory function may indicate brain dysfunction related to dementia, but the relationship between masticatory function and dementia risk remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether masticatory function is associated with the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
Methods
Data were obtained from the nationwide prospective cohort study of randomly sampled community-dwelling Koreans aged ≥ 60 years. The 5,064 non-demented participants, whose number of chewing cycles per bite was assessed by clinical interview, were followed for 8 years with biennial assessments of cognitive performance and clinical diagnoses of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging was collected from a subset of cohort participants and their spouses for imaging analyses.
Results
Males who chewed ≥ 30 cycles/bite had faster decline in global cognition and memory function and were at higher risk for incident all-cause dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 2.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–7.18) and AD (HR, 3.22; 95% CI, 1.14–9.11) compared to males with less than 10 cycles/bite. Additionally, increased chewing cycles in males were associated with reduced brain volume, particularly in regions involved in compensatory cognitive control of mastication. There was no significant association between chewing cycles and the risk of dementia or brain volume in females.
Conclusion
Older men who frequently chew their meals could be considered a notable population at risk for dementia who should be carefully assessed for their cognitive trajectories.

Keyword

Masticatory Function; Dementia; Cognitive Decline; Sex Difference; Brain-Stomatognathic System

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