O072 - CHEWING STRENGTH AS A MARKER OF SARCOPENIA AND MALNUTRITION IN OLDER ADULTS

O072

CHEWING STRENGTH AS A MARKER OF SARCOPENIA AND MALNUTRITION IN OLDER ADULTS

F. Tambaro^1,*, E. Assanto¹, O. Poli², G. Fusco¹, M. Muscaritoli¹

¹Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, ²Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

Rationale: Subjects with chewing failure often alter the quality and quantity of food intake, thereby increasing their risk of sarcopenia and malnutrition. To identify the clinical impact of muscle function on masticatory performance, aims of this study were to i) evaluate the relationship between Maximum Bite Force (MBF) and skeletal muscle (SM) function, and ii) to correlate these findings with nutritional status in a group of older adults undergoing conservative or surgical dental treatments.

Methods: Subjects undergoing mild (MILD) or limited/extended (LIM/EXT) dental surgery were studied. Nutritional assessment was performed with MNA-SF. Weight loss (WL) or weight stability (WS) during the previous 6 months was recorded. Body composition changes were estimated by BIA. SM function was evaluated by Hand Grip Test (HGT) and 6-Minutes Walking Test (6MWT). MBF was measured by gnathodynamometer. Sex-specific internal cut-off for fat-free mass index (FFMI) were ≤16.8 kg/m² F / ≤19.1 kg/m² M.

Results: MBF was higher in normally nourished (NS, n=30) then in subjects either at risk or malnourished (RM, n=8) (p=0.028). The combined effects of surgery type, nutritional status and body composition were analyzed. Significant reduction of HGT (p=0.029), 6MWT (p=0.047) and MBF (p=0.004) were observed in LIM/EXT + RM (n=7) vs MILD + NS (n=18). Additionally, MBF was reduced in in LIM/EXT + low FFMI (n=9) vs MILD + high FFMI (n=8) (p=0.036), while HGT (p=0.003) and MBF (p=0.014) were reduced in LIM/EXT + WL (n=6) vs MILD + WS (n=15).

Conclusion: Measurement of MBF could represent a simple, inexpensive and effective tool to detect subjects at risk of sarcopenia and muscle function impairment. Further studies are warranted to confirm these preliminary albeit intriguing findings.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared