Questionnaire-based and Objective Oral Function Assessments in Older Adults: Their Level of Agreement

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  • OKU Saori
    Geriatric Dentistry and Perioperative Medicine in Dentistry, Kyushu University Hospital
  • MIZUTANI Shinsuke
    OBT Research Center, Faculty of Dental Science, Kyushu University Section of Geriatric Dentistry and Perioperative Medicine in Dentistry, Division of Maxillofacial Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Dental Science, Kyushu University

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 地域在住高齢者における口腔に関する質問紙調査と口腔機能検査結果との相違について
  • チイキ ザイジュウ コウレイシャ ニ オケル コウコウ ニ カンスル シツモンシ チョウサ ト コウコウ キノウ ケンサ ケッカ ト ノ ソウイ ニ ツイテ
Published
2025
DOI
  • 10.5834/jdh.75.4_235
Publisher
Japanese Society for Oral Health

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<p> In older adults, symptoms of declining oral function, such as choking, food spillage, and difficulty chewing, can lead to severe malnutrition, and so it is important to implement early preventive intervention. This study aimed to investigate the level of agreement between the results of a questionnaire on oral function and objective assessments conducted by dental professionals. The study included 400 community-dwelling older adults (mean age: 72.6±3.9 years). The questionnaire included six items: “I can chew and eat anything,” “It has become more difficult to eat hard foods compared with six months ago,” “I sometimes choke on tea or soup,” “I have difficulty eating and sometimes spill food,” “I mainly eat soft foods,” and “I sometimes have difficulty articulating, and my tongue feels tangled.” Objective oral function was assessed using masticatory performance, tongue pressure, and oral diadochokinesis. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated to evaluate the level of agreement between the questionnaire and objective assessments. The sensitivity/specificity values for the items related to masticatory performance: “Can chew all kinds of food” and “Have more difficulty eating hard foods compared with six months ago,” were 0.53/0.81 and 0.60/0.83, respectively. In contrast, sensitivity of the other questionnaire items did not exceed 0.50. Although sensitivity and specificity were not high overall, the two chewing-related items were suggested as potential alternative measures for masticatory ability tests in older adults.</p>

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