Analysis of the Occurrence and Influencing Factors of Oral Frailty in Elderly Residents of Elderly Care Facilities

Objective To investigate the occurrence and influencing factors of oral frailty in elderly residents of elderly care facilities and to provide a basis for the development of effective intervention programs for oral frailty in this population.

Methods A combination of subjective and objective measurements of oral frailty, a general information questionnaire, a leisure activity questionnaire, the Dietary Variety Score (DVS), the Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ), the Short-Form Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF), Barthel Index (BI), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), 15-Item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-2 (GAD-2) were used to survey 348 elderly residents in three elderly care facilities in Chengdu and to analyze the factors related to oral frailty.

Results The prevalence of oral frailty in elderly residents of elderly care facilities was 31.0% (108/348). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that advanced age (odds ratio OR=1.347, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.237-1.496, P<0.001), cognitive impairment (OR=6.769, 95% CI: 2.628-18.916, P<0.001), and depression (OR=8.632, 95% CI: 1.931-44.387, P=0.007) were risk factors for oral frailty in elderly residents of elderly care facilities. High scores in leisure activities (OR=0.883, 95% CI: 0.786-0.986, P=0.030), and dietary diversity (OR=0.199, 95% CI: 0.069-0.530, P=0.002) were protective factors against oral frailty.

Conclusion The prevalence of oral frailty is relatively high among elderly residents of elderly care facilities. Risk factors for oral frailty include advanced age, cognitive impairment, and depression, while increased levels of leisure activities and dietary diversity can help prevent the occurrence of oral frailty in elderly individuals.