Appetite, oral health and weight loss in community-dwelling older men: an observational study from the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP)

Table 2 Oral health status by weight loss

Variables	Total population (N = 542)		Stable or Weight gain ≥5%^a (N = 443)		Weight loss ≥5% ^b (N = 99)
	n	(%)	n	(%)	n	(%)	p value
Has < 20 natural teeth	301	(55.5)	233	(52.6)	68	(68.7)	< 0.01
Denture wearing status
Full denture (mandibular+maxillary)	71	(13.1)	55	(12.4)	16	(16.2)
Single full denture and/or partial denture	238	(43.9)	190	(42.9)	48	(48.5)	0.21
No denture	233	(43.0)	198	(44.7)	35	(35.4)
Limited chewing capacity ^c	152	(28.0)	119	(26.9)	33	(33.3)	0.22
Swallowing difficulty (Occasionally/Fairly often/Very often)	65	(12.0)	46	(10.4)	19	(19.2)	0.03
Mouth dryness (Dry: no droplet within 30 s)	346	(63.8)	280	(63.2)	66	(66.7)	0.56
Self-evaluated oral health (Fair/Poor)	151	(27.9)	121	(27.3)	30	(30.3)	0.54

^a Stable weight with either less than 5% weight gain or less than 5% weight loss, or had gained weight 5% or more in the previous 3-years between 5-year and 8-year assessments
^b Weight loss of 5% or more over 3-years between 5-year and 8-year assessments
^c Chewing capacity were evaluated by asking “Are you currently able to chew?” for 11 food items. Subjects who answered "yes" to 10 - 11 food items were classified as "no problem", or otherwise classified as "limited"

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