Trends and Trajectories of Oral Health Among Older Americans: The Role of Cognit

描述(由申请人提供)：口腔健康是美国老年人健康和幸福的重要组成部分，但往往被忽视。与年轻人相比，老年人口腔疾病的发病率和流行率都有所增加。无论是在人群还是在个人层面上，人们对晚年口腔健康变化的模式知之甚少。此外，很少有研究检查可能与口腔健康变化有关的因素，如认知功能。本研究有以下具体目的：(1)考察和预测美国老年人口腔健康趋势中的种族/民族和社会经济差异；(2)考察老年人口腔健康变化的个体内和个体间差异；(3)横断面分析认知功能与口腔健康之间的关系；(4)通过纵向数据分析评估老年人认知功能与口腔健康之间的联系。这项拟议的研究在几个方面是创新的：1)最先进的分析方法来分析人口趋势和预测，以及个人的口腔健康轨迹；2)检查口腔健康趋势和轨迹中的种族/民族和社会经济差异；3)关注具有一系列认知功能的个人(从潜在痴呆症患者到认知正常的人)；4)检查认知功能和口腔健康之间的联系，同时控制其他重要的协变量；以及5)使用多个公认的数据集，包括具有全国和区域代表性的样本，这些样本本质上是纵向的或横截面的，以比较和确认不同数据集上的口腔健康模式和预测因素。我们希望我们的研究能够更好地理解口腔健康恶化的机制及其危险因素。反过来，我们的研究可能会提出有效和创新的做法来防止口腔健康恶化的策略。由于将使用二手数据，拟议的研究是实现我们目标的一种非常具有成本效益的方式。公共卫生相关性：与公共健康相关美国老年人的数量和比例不断增加，这使得老年口腔健康成为本研究将解决的一个日益重要的公共卫生问题。这项研究将有助于制定有效的预防和干预策略。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Oral health is a critical but often overlooked component of health and well-being in older Americans. Compared to younger individuals, elderly people have an increased incidence and prevalence of oral diseases. Little is known about the patterns of oral health changes in late life at either the population or the individual level. In addition, few studies have examined factors, such as cognitive function, that may be associated with oral health changes. This study has the following specific aims: (1) examine and project racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in oral health trends among older Americans; (2) examine the intra- and inter-individual differences of change in oral health among older adults; (3) cross-sectionally analyze the relationship between cognitive function and oral health; and (4) assess the linkage between cognitive function and oral health among older adults by conducting longitudinal data analysis. This proposed research is innovative in several respects: 1) state-of-the-art analytic approach to analyses on population trends and projections, and individual trajectories of oral health; 2) examination of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in oral health trends and trajectories; 3) focus on individuals with a range of cognitive function (from individuals with potential dementia to cognitively normal); 4) examination of the linkage between cognitive function and oral health while controlling for other important covariates; and 5) use of multiple well-established datasets, including nationally and regionally representative samples, that are longitudinal or cross-sectional in nature, to compare and confirm the patterns and predictors of oral health across the various datasets. We expect our study to lead to a better understanding of the mechanism underlying oral health deterioration and its risk factors. And, in turn, our study may suggest strategies for effective and innovative practices to prevent oral health deterioration. As secondary data will be used, the proposed study is a very cost-effective way to accomplish our objectives. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Relevant to Public Health The growing number and proportion of the older adults in the U.S. makes geriatric oral health an increasingly important public health issue that this study will address. This study will lead to the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies.