Objective: Although it has been suggested that a decline in oral function is one of the potential risk factors affecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI), evidence is insufficient to draw clear conclusions. This Japanese cross-sectional study examined the association between tongue pressure (TP) and MCI in middle-aged and older adults aged 36-84 years.
Methods: Study participants were 1019 (368 men and 651 women). TP was evaluated using a TP measurement device. The maximum value of three measurements was used for analysis. MCI was defined as being present if a participant had a Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score of <26. Adjustment was made for age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, leisure-time physical activity, body mass index, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, history of depression, number of teeth, employment, education, and household income.
Results: The prevalence of MCI was 45.3%. Among women, compared with the lowest tertile of TP, the second and highest tertiles were significantly associated with a lower prevalence of MCI with a clear dose-response relationship; the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) in the second and highest tertiles of TP were 0.54 (0.36-0.83) and 0.55 (0.36-0.84), respectively (p for trend = 0.005). In contrast, no statistically significant association was observed between TP and the prevalence of MCI among men.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that higher TP might be inversely associated with the prevalence of MCI in middle-aged and older Japanese women.
Keywords: Japanese; cross‐sectional studies; mild cognitive impairment; oral function; tongue pressure.
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