10-year mortality following cohort study in an 80-year-old community dwelling population

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During follow-up period of 12 years, 506 died(total mortality, 64.7%), 276 were alive, and 42 were lost(follow-up rate, 94.9%) out of 824 subjects who participated in the present study in 1998.Out of the 506 who died, 128 died due to cardiovascular disease(25.3%), 96 to respiratory tract disease(19.0%), 87 to cancer(17.2%), and 51 to senility(10.1%). Number of teeth at the start of the study of 80-year-old individuals was 6.8 for those who died, and 8.3 for those who remained alive(P=0.026). Association in 12-mortality with chewing ability or teeth number at age of 80 year was assessed using Kaplan-Meier methods. All subjects were classified according to the number of foods to chew(poor chewing, 0-4 ; slightly poor, 5-9 ; slightly good, 10-14 ; good chewing, 15), or number of teeth(0 ; 1-9 ; 10-19 ;≧20). There was a significant difference among groups for chewing ability, while no difference was found among groups for number of teeth. Total mortality using Cox proportional hazards regression model, which were adjusted for gender, was 2.1 times more prevalent in subjects with poor chewing, 1.4 times more prevalent in those with slightly poor chewing, and 1.3 times more prevalent in those with slightly good chewing as compared to those with good chewing. The risk for total mortality associated with increase in 1 chewable food decreased 4.5% after adjustment for gender difference. Similarly, risk of all-cause mortality adjusted for gender difference was decreased 1.5% with an increase in 1 tooth. These findings suggest that preserving chewing ability or remaining teeth at the age of 80 may be associated with longenity.