Relationship between Decreased Mineral Intake Due to Oral Frailty and Bone Mineral Density: Findings from Shika Study

The relationship between oral frailty (OF) and bone mineral density is unclear. This cross-sectional study analyzed the relationship between mineral intake and bone mineral density in middle-aged and older people with pre-oral and OF. The participants, which included 240 people aged 40 years and older, completed the three oral questions on the Kihon Checklist (KCL), which is a self-reported comprehensive health checklist, the brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ), and the osteo-sono assessment index (OSI). A two-way analysis of covariance on oral function and OSI indicated that the intake of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, squid/octopus/shrimp/shellfish, carrots/pumpkins, and mushroom was significantly lower in the OF and low-OSI groups than in the non-OF and high-OSI groups. A multiple logistic regression analysis for OF showed that potassium, magnesium, phosphorous and carrots/pumpkins were significantly associated with OF in the low-OSI group but not in the high-OSI group. These results demonstrated that the decrease in mineral intake due to OF was associated with decreased bone mineral density, suggesting that the maintenance of oral function prevents a decrease in bone mineral density.