ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

Sarcopenia is a key public health concern that reduces older-adult quality of life and is associated with adverse outcomes, including falls and chronic diseases. Although interest in the oral health-sarcopenia association has increased, most prior studies have used cross-sectional designs, limiting assessment of temporal precedence. Using data from the 1st to 9th waves (2006–2022) of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, this study investigated the longitudinal association and temporal directionality between chewing difficulty and possible sarcopenia in middle-aged and older adults. After adjustment for confounding variables, older adults with chewing difficulty had a significantly higher odds of possible sarcopenia compared to those without chewing difficulty (OR, 1.616; 95% CI, 1.507–1.733). Subgroup analyses indicated a stronger association in females than in males and, in particular, among non-current smokers and non-current drinkers. Lagged effect models further identified a bidirectional relationship between chewing difficulty and possible sarcopenia; nonetheless, the effect of prior chewing difficulty on subsequent possible sarcopenia (OR, 1.390; 95% CI, 1.284–1.504) was statistically and significantly stronger than the reverse effect (OR, 1.154; 95% CI, 1.060–1.255). In conclusion, this longitudinal study identified chewing difficulty as a significant predictor of sarcopenia in older Korean individuals. Although the relationship was bidirectional, chewing difficulty had the more dominant precursor effect on sarcopenia.

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