Sleeping in dentures doubles risk of pneumonia
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- Published: Monday, 03 November 2014 07:21
- Written by News Editor
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According to a recent study has shown that poor oral health and hygiene are major risk factors for pneumonia among the elderly (those 85 years of age or older). Lead researcher was Toshimitsu Iinuma, of the Nihon University School of Dentistry, Japan and it has been published by the International and American Associations for Dental Research.
The research team prospectively investigated associations between oral health behaviours and the incidence of pneumonia in the community-living of elders 85 years of age or older. This study is titled ‘Denture Wearing During Sleep Doubles the Risk of Pneumonia in Very Elderly’.
At baseline, 524 randomly selected seniors (228 males, 296 females, average age was 87.8 years old) were examined for oral health status and oral hygiene behaviours as well as medical assessment, including blood chemistry analysis, and followed up annually until first hospitalisation for or death from pneumonia. Over a three-year follow-up period, 48 events associated with pneumonia were identified (20 deaths and 28 acute hospitalisations). Among 453 denture wearers, 186 (40.8%) who wore their dentures during sleep, were at higher risk for pneumonia than those who removed their dentures at night.
This study provides empirical evidence that denture wearing during sleep is associated not only with oral inflammatory and microbial burden but also with incident pneumonia, suggesting potential implications of oral hygiene programs for pneumonia prevention in the community.
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