Self‐reported oral health status, edentulism and all‐cause mortality risk in 12 809 Australian older adults: a prospective cohort study

Abstract Objective To investigate the association between oral health status and all‐cause mortality in older adults using prospective cohort study design. Setting and participants In total, 12 809 adults aged ≥70 years (54.3% females) were participants of the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons (ALSOP). Methods Participants self‐reported the presence of natural teeth and oral health status. The association of self‐reported oral health, edentulism and the integrative measure of the two with all‐cause mortality were explored using the Cox‐regression models adjusted for age, gender, socio‐economic status, health‐related behaviours, weight status, aspirin and polypharmacy. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. Results In total, 22.2% of participants reported edentulism and 13.8% had fair/poor oral health. After adjustment for confounders, risk of all‐cause mortality was higher among those with edentulism (vs. no edentulism) HR (95% CI) 1.43 (1.18, 1.73); and those with edentulism and reporting poor/fair oral health HR (95% CI) 1.69 (1.02, 2.82), or with no edentulism but reporting poor/fair oral health HR (95% CI) 1.46 (1.19–1.80) vs. no edentulism and reporting good/very good/excellent oral health. No association was observed between self‐reported oral health alone and all‐cause mortality. Conclusions The risk of all‐cause mortality was 69% higher among older adults reporting both edentulism and poor/fair oral health compared with those with teeth and more favourable self‐reported oral health. © 2023 Australian Dental Association.