Oral frailty and carriage of oral Candida in community‐dwelling older adults (Check‐up to discover Health with Energy for senior Residents in Iwamizawa; CHEER Iwamizawa)

Objective To examine the association between oral frailty and oral Candida carriage as a general indicator of deteriorating oral function in older adults. Background Older adults exhibit an elevated risk of oral candidiasis caused by Candida. Although many studies have identified factors associated with oral Candida carriage, none have evaluated its relationship with oral function. Materials and Methods This study included 210 community‐dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years who participated in wellness checks. Fungal flora expression in saliva samples was evaluated to identify oral C. albicans and C. glabrata. Participants were categorised by detection of neither strain (group 1), either one of the strains (group 2), or both strains (group 3). The relationship between oral Candida carriage and oral frailty was evaluated by multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results The participants included 58 men and 152 women with a mean age of 74.2 ± 6.1 years. A total of 88 (41.9%), 94 (44.8%) and 28 (13.3%) participants were assigned to groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. In the multinomial logistic regression analysis, significant associations were observed between group 1 and group 2 for “Have you choked on your tea or soup recently?” and the number of applicable oral frailty items. Between group 1 and group 3, significant associations were observed for the number of remaining teeth, masticatory performance and the number of applicable oral frailty items. Conclusion We obtained basic data useful for intervention studies aimed at verifying whether oral function management prevents deterioration of the oral bacterial flora.