Examination of the Relationship between Senior Citizensʼ Club Membership and Oral Frailty among Community-dwelling Older People

<p>　We considered the possibility that belonging to a senior citizensʼ club, which plays an important role among older people, may have an effect on the maintenance of oral function. We conducted a survey with the aim of clarifying the current status of oral function among older people who belong to a senior citizensʼ club from the perspective of awareness of oral frailty and the presence or absence of risk of oral frailty.</p><p>　We investigated age, gender, oral frailty screening and evaluation form（OFI-8）, awareness of oral frailty, pathways to awareness, and self-perception among community-dwelling older people in the Owari area of Aichi Prefecture, Japan.</p><p>　The subjects of this study were 208（100 senior citizensʼ club members and 108 non-members）, and the average age of the subjects was 75.8±5.2 years old. A comparison of oral functions between the senior citizensʼ club members and non-members showed no significant difference in the level of recognition of oral frailty, but their recognition pathways were different. Publicity events, media, and newsletters accounted for a large proportion of the members, while the media accounted for the majority of the non-members. In addition, a comparison of the risk of oral frailty revealed that the percentage of those at risk was lower among members（45.0%）than among non-members（59.3%）. Furthermore, by age, the proportion of non-members at risk of oral frailty tended to be higher than that of members among those over 75 years of age. By gender, the proportion of non-members at risk of oral frailty was significantly higher than that of members among women.</p><p>　The importance of belonging to a senior citizensʼ club for community-dwelling older people was revealed, as we found associations with age- and gender-specific factors that contribute to decline of oral function.</p>