Oral hypofunction and social aspects in older adults visiting frailty outpatient clinic

Background Oral and social problems can exacerbate long‐term care. Understanding the relationship between social aspects and oral hypofunction can help identify high‐risk factors for long‐term care. Objective This study aimed to investigate the social aspects of oral hypofunction among medical outpatients. Methods This retrospective cross‐sectional study included patients who visited an outpatient clinic for frailty. The oral function was assessed using seven items: oral hygiene, occlusal force, masticatory function, tongue‐lip motor function, tongue pressure, oral dryness and swallowing function. Participants with three or more functional declines were classified as having ‘oral hypofunction’. Social aspects were assessed using 21 items in four categories: general resources, basic social needs, social resources and social behaviours/activities. We analysed the relationship between oral hypofunction and each social aspect. Results A total of 316 participants (age 78.5 ± 6.4 years) were included, and 128 (41%) had oral hypofunction. Participants with oral hypofunction were significantly more likely to have limited education, require long‐term care, not use transportation, depend on others for shopping, not participate in events, lack association membership and not engage in charity or volunteer work. After logistic regression analysis, ‘long‐term care’ and ‘no association membership’ remained significantly associated with oral hypofunction (odds ratios 2.3, 2.3; 95% CI 1.1–5.0, 1.1–4.7, respectively). Conclusion Participants with oral hypofunction faced challenges in ‘general resources’ and ‘social behaviour/activities’, which were linked to oral function issues. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to further investigate this relationship. This study examined the social factors associated with oral frailty to identify high‐risk factors for long‐term care in medical outpatient clinics. Individuals experiencing a lack of social connections and challenges with oral function should be recognized as high‐risk and addressed with timely and appropriate interventions.