Current situation of oral frailty and its correlation with sarcopenia in elderly people in the community

Objective: To investigate the current situation and influencing factors of oral frailty in elderly people in the community, and analyze its correlation between oral frailty and sarcopenia, thereby providing reference for developing oral health and sarcopenia prevention in the community. Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to select 449 elderly people undergoing physical examination as the study subjects.Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria.A self-made general information questionnaire, oral frailty index scale, mini nutritional assessment-short form, and the 5-item geriatric depression scale were applied to conduct a survey in the subjects. Results: The incidence of oral frailty and sarcopenia in elderly people in the community was 35.6% and 17.6%, respectively.The results of univariate analysis showed that gender, age, education level, number of chronic diseases, muscle mass and strength, smoking, depression, and sarcopenia were the influencing factors of oral frailty in elderly people in the community (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01).The Spearman correlation analysis results showed that oral frailty was significantly positively correlated with sarcopenia (r=0.364, P < 0.01), and significantly negatively correlated with muscle mass and strength (r=-0.345, -0.420, P < 0.01).Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that advanced age, male, low education level, coexistence of multiple chronic diseases, depression, and sarcopenia were risk factors for oral frailty in elderly people in the community (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01). Conclusions: Elderly people in the community have a higher risk of developing oral frailty, which is significantly positively correlated with sarcopenia.Healthcare professionals should strengthen early assessment and management of oral health and sarcopenia in elderly people in the community to promote their overall health.