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Prevalence, Correlates and Health-related Implications of Edentulism among Elderly in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Selvamani Yesuvadian, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Aravinda Gundupalli, University of Aberdeen

Poor oral health conditions in old age are important predictors of several health-related outcomes including undernutrition and non-communicable diseases. The loss of natural teeth among older people in India is a highly neglected public health condition. Yet no previous studies have looked into the prevalence and consequences of edentulism among older people in India. Hence, the study aims to fill this gap by investigating the prevalence and correlates of edentulism by analysing the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India wave 1 data. In addition, the study examined whether edentulism among older Indians was associated with chewing disability, poor self-rated health (SRH), functional limitations, and subjective wellbeing. Bivariate analysis was conducted to understand the sample distribution and prevalence of edentulism by states and background variables. Multivariate analyses were used to study the correlates and implications of edentulism. The overall prevalence of edentulism in the study population aged 60 and above was 11.4% with significant regional variation. Less education has significantly increased the odds of edentulism. Underweight was significantly associated with higher odds of edentulism. Edentulous older adults were more likely to report chewing disabilities (OR=5.3, p<.001), poor SRH (OR=1.26, p<.001), 1+ADL (OR=1.33, p<.001), 1+IADL (OR=1.18, p<.001) land on life satisfaction (OR=1.13, p<.005).

Keywords: Older adults, Population ageing, Health and morbidity, Longevity

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P19.