(P11-014-25) Oral Health Outcomes as a Surrogate Measure for Bone Mineral Density With Consideration of Diet: A Protocol Using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Objectives: The burden of osteoporosis and fractures are rising as our population ages; however poor bone health often goes unnoticed until fracture occurs. Guidance is needed to identify those at high risk. Some studies have shown correlations between oral health and bone mineral density (BMD), but none in a large Canadian cohort. The study objective is to determine if oral health problems are associated with BMD. It is hypothesized that having a greater number of oral health problems will be correlated with a lower BMD as both can occur due to inflammation. One of our models will investigate diet as a covariate.

Methods: This analysis will be completed using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), a national cohort of over 20,000 men and women ages 50 to 85 years. Hip BMD was quantified using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Oral health problems were assessed with a survey about teeth and gum health, dental visits, and possible food avoidance due to compromised oral health. An oral health score will be assigned based on number of oral health problems reported. Ordinal regression analyses will incorporate risk factors associated with oral health problems and osteoporosis as covariates. Model 1 will include age. Model 2 will add sex, ethnicity, smoking status, and body mass index. Model 3 will add income, physical activity, and diet (categorized as total daily intake of fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish, dairy, meats, whole grains, calcium fortified foods/beverages, and fibre). This is of interest as maintaining oral health is integral to the ability to maintain a healthy diet as one ages.

Results: N/A

Conclusions: Findings can inform the use of oral health parameters to identify those at high risk of fracture while also elucidating the relationship with specific food groupings.

Funding Sources: This research was made possible using a General Research Grant to W. Ward and data collected by the CLSA. Funding for the CLSA is provided by the Government of Canada through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research under grant reference: LSA 94473 and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, as well as the following provinces, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. This research has been conducted using the CLSA dataset FUP1_CoPv5, Application ID 2404005. The CLSA is led by Drs. Parminder Raina, Christina Wolfson and Susan Kirkland.