Padrão alimentar de pessoas idosas longevas não frágeis e sua relação com a fragilidade oral, condição e autopercepção de saúde bucal

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health comprises the health status of the oral cavity, masticatory system and swallowing, which directly impacts the intake and feeding behavior. Poor oral health in the older population can not only reduce food consumption but also increase the risk of frailty. The study of dietary patterns can provide us a more accurate perspective of the relationship between diet and health. Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between oral health and dietary patterns in non-frail elderly individuals. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a sample of non-frail elderly people had their oral health assessed through a clinical dental examination and classified using the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT). The risk of oral frailty was assessed using the questionnaire Oral Frailty Index 8 (OFI-8), self-perception of oral health was assessed with the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Dietary patterns were established with food records from three non-consecutive days. An a posteriori cluster analysis was performed based on the similarity among individuals using the Euclidean metric by hierarchical K-means method. After assessing normality, statistical analysis was performed using the Mann Whitney test to compare food groups and the Chi-Square test for categorical variables. Spearman's correlation was made to examine the relationship between the scores obtained on the OHAT, OFI-8 and GOHAI questionnaires. The Bonferroni post hoc test was used to adjust the level of significance between the variables in the oral health assessment questionnaires. Results: The sample included 76 individuals, 55.3% were women, with a median age of 84 years, with preserved functionality. Two dietary patterns were found, the FVL (fruit, vegetables and dairy products) pattern (n=20) which had significantly higher consumption (p<0.05) of vegetables, dairy products, whole fruit and fruit juice, herbs and spices, as well as higher per capita income (p=0.027) and the group called Traditional (n=56) with consumption of the usual food groups in the Brazilian diet. Regarding oral parameters, no differences were found between the dietary patterns. Self-perception of oral health was evaluated positively in 51.3% of the sample, similar to the oral health status assessed by dental examination. Despite the preservation of physical and mental functionality observed in this sample, 75% were at high risk of oral frailty, with changes in chewing, use of full dentures, reduced social participation and the absence of regular dental care being the determining factors (p<0.001), as well as frequent choking (p=0.002) and dry mouth (p= 0.002). Collinearity analysis between the GOHAI, OFI-8 and OHAT questionnaires revealed a moderate positive correlation between OHAT and OFI-8 (r=0,313) (p=0.006) and a moderate negative correlation between OFI-8 and GOHAI (r=-0,486) (p<0.001). Conclusion: The risk of oral fragility studied was high, however, mismatched with the self-perception of the elderly. Oral health status, positive self-perception of oral health and high risk of oral frailty were not associated with dietary patterns in the sample of non-frail elderly people. Conclusion: The risk of oral frailty assessed was high, but this was not consistent with the functionality and self-perception of oral health. The oral health parameters assessed were not associated with dietary patterns on non-frail elderly people.