Table 1 Study parameters stratified by evaluation group

Age [years]

 Mean ± SD

78.3 ± 9.3

74.1 ± 8.3

78.8 ± 10.3

82.2 ± 7.5

0.01

 Median (range)

79 (61–95)

75 (62–92)

81 (61–95)

85 (65–95)

Sex [n/%]

 Male

24/33.8

11/45.8

8/33.3

5/21.7

0.222

 Female

47/66.2

13/54.2

16/66.7

18/78.3

Living situation [n/%]

 Long-term care facility

30/42.3

1/4.2

10/41.7

19 /82.6

 < 0.001

 Community-dwelling

41/57.7

23/95.8

14/58.3

4/17.4

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)

 Mean ± SD

25.5 ± 3.8

29.1 ± 0.7

26.5 ± 0.7

20.8 ± 2.5

 < 0.001

 Median (range)

27 (18–30)

29 (28–30)

27 (25–27)

21 (18–24)

Chewing efficiency

 Variance of hue (VOH)

  Mean ± SD

0.3 ± 0.2

0.3 ± 0.2

0.2 ± 0.2

0.3 ± 0.2

0.522

 Subjective assessment scale (SAS) [n/%]

  SA1

10/14.1

3/12.5

3/12.5

4/17.4

0.507

  SA2

19/26.8

8/33.3

4/16.7

7/30.4

  SA3

30/42.3

6/25.0

14/58.3

10/43.5

  SA4

7/9.9

5/20.8

1/4.2

1/4.3

  SA5

5/7.0

2/8.3

2/8.3

1/4.3

Maximum occlusal force (MOF) [kN]

0.282

 Mean ± SD

0.2 ± 0.2

0.1 ± 0.2

0.2 ± 0.2

0.1 ± 0.1

Maximum handgrip strength [kg]

 Mean ± SD

0.003

 All participants

21.2 ± 11.1

26.4 ± 10.9

20.7 ± 10.3

16.1 ± 9.8

 Males

31.8 ± 9.7

33.9 ± 11.6

32.3 ± 7.8

26.4 ± 7.0

 Females

15.6 ± 7.0

20 ± 4.5

14.9 ± 5.5

13.2 ± 8.6

Mini Nutritional Assessment [n/%]

n = 32

n = 7

n = 13

n = 12

 Well-nourished

0/0

0/0

0/0

0/0

0.002

 Risk of malnutrition

12/37.5

2/28.6

4/30.8

6/50.0

 Malnutrition

20/62.5

5/71.4

9/69.2

6/50.0