Association of dental structural and functional deficits with sarcopenia prevalence in patients with diabetes

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of dental structural and functional deficits with sarcopenia prevalence in patients with diabetes. METHODS: Based on 2011 to 2018 survey data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database, 5 082 participants aged 40～59 years were included. A complex-sample Logistic regression model was used to analyze the associations of diabetes and dental structural and functional deficits with sarcopenia prevalence, and age-stratified and interaction analyses were performed using 50 years as the cutoff. RESULTS: The 5 082 participants had a mean age of (49.29±5.57) years and included 2 457 males, 2 625 females, and 472 cases of sarcopenia. Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that neither dental structural nor functional deficits were associated with sarcopenia in participants without diabetes (all P＞0.05). Compared with participants without diabetes, patients with diabetes had higher overall odds ratios (OR) for sarcopenia. Patients with diabetes with/without dental caries, those with normal/low numbers of opposing functional tooth pairs, and those with ＜20 functional teeth had an increased risk of sarcopenia (P＜0.05). Further age-stratified analysis showed that among participants aged ＜50 years, those with diabetes and ＜20 functional teeth (OR=3.219) or a low number of opposing functional tooth pairs (OR=3.551) had an increased risk of sarcopenia (P＜0.001); diabetes without dental caries was associated with sarcopenia in participants aged ＜50 years and ≥50 years (P＜0.05). There were no interactions between diabetes and dental structural or functional deficits, or between diabetes, dental structural or functional deficits, and age (all P＞0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The presence/absence of dental caries, ＜20 functional teeth, and a low number of opposing functional tooth pairs may be associated with sarcopenia prevalence in patients with diabetes.