Title: Oral frailty and its influencing factors among elderly mild cognitive impairment patients in community
Abstract:
Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence and influencing factors of oral frailty in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment in the community.
Method: In the period between January and March 2024, 291 elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment from two communities in Zhengzhou City were selected as survey subjects using the convenience sampling method. The assessment tool employed was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale, the Mini-Mental State Examination Scale, the Activities of Daily Living Scale, the Chinese version of the Oral Frailty Index?8, the Oral Health Behavioural Questionnaire, the Geriatric Self-Efficacy Scale for Oral Health, the Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short Form and the Perceived Social Support Scale. Binary logistic regression was employed to analyse the factors influencing oral frailty in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Results: The prevalence of oral frailty in community-dwelling elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment was 50.5%. The factors influencing oral frailty in this population were age, literacy, oral health behaviour, oral health-related self-efficacy, and social support (P?0.05).
Conclusion: The prevalence of oral frailty is higher among elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment in the community. Furthermore, the risk of oral frailty is higher among patients of advanced age, low literacy, poor oral health behaviour, low oral health-related self-efficacy, and low levels of social support. It is imperative that healthcare professionals prioritize oral frailty in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment. They must develop individualized and comprehensive oral healthcare programs for patients through regular community oral check-ups. The objective is to effectively prevent and delay oral frailty, thereby improving overall oral health and quality of life.
