Number of teeth - a predictor of mortality in 70-year-old subjects

• Published in: Community dentistry and oral epidemiology 2008-06, Vol.36 (3), p.258-268
• Main Authors: Österberg, Tor, Carlsson, Gunnar E, Sundh, Valter, Mellström, Dan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; dental health; Dentistry; elderly; Epidemiology; Female; Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi; general health; Gerontology; Humans; Jaw, Edentulous - mortality; Life Style; Male; Mortality; Odontologi; Older people; Prevalence; Proportional Hazards Models; Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; survival; Teeth; Tooth Loss - mortality
• ISSN: 0301-5661; 1600-0528
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.2007.00413.x

–  Objectives:  To investigate whether the number of teeth at age 70 is an independent predictor of mortality. Methods:  Within the gerontological population studies in Göteborg, Sweden, four birth cohorts born in 1901/1902, 1906/1907, 1911/1912 and 1922 were examined cross‐sectionally at 70 years of age. The total number of participants in the odontological cohorts was 1803. Mortality data were collected from the national Swedish health registers. Cox regression models were used to measure the association between mortality and the number of teeth with adjustment for covariates such as health factors, socio‐economic and lifestyle factors. Results:  The prevalence of edentulism showed a marked change from 51% in the first cohort to 16% in the last cohort. The 7‐year mortality rate was 14% in women and 28% in men, and the highest in edentulous men in the last two cohorts (42% and 47% respectively). The 7‐year mortality including all four cohorts showed a hazard ratio of 0.96 (95% CI 0.94–0.98; P