Association Between Standardised Hand Grip Strength and Lost All Teeth Status in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: It is unclear whether hand grip strength can predict the risk of future tooth loss. This study aims to explore the association between hand grip strength levels and lost all teeth in the middle-aged and elderly population in China through a nationwide cohort study.

Method: Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), 8360 participants aged 45 years or older (58.60 ± 8.04 years) were included, who participated in two rounds of surveys in 2015 and 2018. Participants were divided into four groups based on the hand grip strength (standardised by body weight) quartile of the baseline survey. A multiple logistic regression model was used to analyse the association between hand grip strength and lost all teeth. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to analyse the dose-response relationship between hand grip strength and lost all teeth.

Result: During the follow-up period, 488 (5.80%) study subjects were found to have lost all teeth. In comparison with the study subjects who had incomplete tooth loss, those with complete tooth loss were older, with a higher body mass index (BMI) and a larger waist circumference. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between grip strength level and the risk of complete tooth loss. Further subgroup analysis indicated that the association between standardised hand grip strength and the risk of losing all teeth was strong in both male and normal C-reactive protein (CRP) levels subgroups. There was no non-linear dose-response relationship between hand grip strength level and the risk of complete tooth loss (p non-linear > 0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings reveal a negative correlation between standardised grip strength and complete tooth loss, with higher levels of standardised grip strength being associated with a lower risk of complete tooth loss.