Exploring the link between tooth loss, cognitive function, and brain wellness in the context of healthy aging

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q1 DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE

Journal of periodontal research Pub Date : 2024-05-06 DOI:10.1111/jre.13280

Roger D. Newman-Norlund, Santosh Kudaravalli, Anwar T. Merchant, Julius Fridriksson, Chris Rorden

{"title":"Exploring the link between tooth loss, cognitive function, and brain wellness in the context of healthy aging","authors":"Roger D. Newman-Norlund, Santosh Kudaravalli, Anwar T. Merchant, Julius Fridriksson, Chris Rorden","doi":"10.1111/jre.13280","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Aims</h3>\n \n <p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of using MRI-derived tooth count, an indirect and nonspecific indicator of oral/periodontal health, and brain age gap (BAG), an MRI-based measure of premature brain aging, in predicting cognition in a population of otherwise healthy adults.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Methods</h3>\n \n <p>This retrospective study utilized data from 329 participants from the University of South Carolina's Aging Brain Cohort Repository. Participants underwent neuropsychological testing including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), completed an oral/periodontal health questionnaire, and submitted to high-resolution structural MRI imaging. The study compared variability on cognitive scores (MoCA) accounted for by MRI-derived BAG, MRI-derived total tooth count, and self-reported oral/periodontal health.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>We report a significant positive correlation between the total number of teeth and MoCA total scores after controlling for age, sex, and race, indicating a robust relationship between tooth count and cognition, <i>r</i>(208) = .233, <i>p</i> < .001. In a subsample of participants identified as being at risk for MCI (MoCA <= 25, <i>N</i> = 36) inclusion of MRI-based tooth count resulted in an <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> change of .192 (<i>H</i><sub>0</sub> = 0.138 → <i>H</i><sub>1</sub> = 0.330), <i>F</i>(1,31) = 8.86, <i>p</i> = .006. Notably, inclusion of BAG, a valid and reliable measure of overall brain health, did not significantly improve prediction of MoCA scores in similar linear regression models.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Conclusions</h3>\n \n <p>Our data support the idea that inclusion of MRI-based total tooth count may enhance the ability to predict clinically meaningful differences in cognitive abilities in healthy adults. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence linking oral/periodontal health with cognitive function.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":16715,"journal":{"name":"Journal of periodontal research","volume":"59 6","pages":"1184-1194"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11626696/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of periodontal research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jre.13280","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aims

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of using MRI-derived tooth count, an indirect and nonspecific indicator of oral/periodontal health, and brain age gap (BAG), an MRI-based measure of premature brain aging, in predicting cognition in a population of otherwise healthy adults.

Methods

This retrospective study utilized data from 329 participants from the University of South Carolina's Aging Brain Cohort Repository. Participants underwent neuropsychological testing including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), completed an oral/periodontal health questionnaire, and submitted to high-resolution structural MRI imaging. The study compared variability on cognitive scores (MoCA) accounted for by MRI-derived BAG, MRI-derived total tooth count, and self-reported oral/periodontal health.

Results

We report a significant positive correlation between the total number of teeth and MoCA total scores after controlling for age, sex, and race, indicating a robust relationship between tooth count and cognition, r(208) = .233, p < .001. In a subsample of participants identified as being at risk for MCI (MoCA <= 25, N = 36) inclusion of MRI-based tooth count resulted in an R² change of .192 (H₀ = 0.138 → H₁ = 0.330), F(1,31) = 8.86, p = .006. Notably, inclusion of BAG, a valid and reliable measure of overall brain health, did not significantly improve prediction of MoCA scores in similar linear regression models.

Conclusions

Our data support the idea that inclusion of MRI-based total tooth count may enhance the ability to predict clinically meaningful differences in cognitive abilities in healthy adults. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence linking oral/periodontal health with cognitive function.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

探索健康老龄化背景下牙齿脱落、认知功能和大脑健康之间的联系。

目的：本研究旨在评估使用核磁共振成像衍生的牙齿数量（口腔/牙周健康的间接和非特异性指标）和脑年龄差距（基于核磁共振成像的大脑过早老化测量方法）预测健康成年人认知能力的实用性：这项回顾性研究利用了南卡罗来纳大学老年脑队列库中 329 名参与者的数据。参与者接受了包括蒙特利尔认知评估（MoCA）在内的神经心理学测试，填写了一份口腔/牙周健康问卷，并接受了高分辨率结构性核磁共振成像。研究比较了磁共振成像衍生的BAG、磁共振成像衍生的总牙齿数和自我报告的口腔/牙周健康状况对认知评分（MoCA）的影响：在控制了年龄、性别和种族之后，我们发现牙齿总数与 MoCA 总分之间存在明显的正相关性，这表明牙齿数量与认知能力之间存在稳健的关系，r(208) = .233，p 2 变化为 .192 (H0 = 0.138 → H1 = 0.330)，F(1,31) = 8.86，p = .006。值得注意的是，在类似的线性回归模型中，纳入 BAG（一种有效、可靠的大脑整体健康测量指标）并不能显著提高对 MoCA 分数的预测：我们的数据支持这样一种观点，即纳入基于核磁共振成像的总齿数可能会提高预测健康成年人认知能力中具有临床意义的差异的能力。这项研究为越来越多的将口腔/牙周健康与认知功能联系起来的证据做出了贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of periodontal research 医学-牙科与口腔外科

CiteScore

6.90

自引率

5.70%

发文量

103

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Periodontal Research is an international research periodical the purpose of which is to publish original clinical and basic investigations and review articles concerned with every aspect of periodontology and related sciences. Brief communications (1-3 journal pages) are also accepted and a special effort is made to ensure their rapid publication. Reports of scientific meetings in periodontology and related fields are also published. One volume of six issues is published annually.