Aim: Social isolation and oral health problems commonly exist in older populations and can influence each other. However, evidence on this bidirectional correlation is scarce. This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of literature in which social isolation and oral health were associated with each other separately.
Methods: Electronic searches were performed through six databases. Original cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective studies that evaluated the associations between social isolation and oral health as either exposure or outcome were included.
Results: In total, 282 articles were retrieved. Of these, 10 cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study were included in the analysis. The level of evidence reported was generally moderate to strong. Most studies found that both stronger objective and perceived social isolation were associated with worse oral health in both directions. The frequency of meeting friends had an inconsistent association with oral health.
Conclusions: The results of our systematic review showed a bidirectional association between social isolation and oral health in independent community-dwelling older adults. Both objective and perceived social isolation are associated with oral health. As objective social isolation indicators, quality of social connectedness appears to play a more important role in the association with oral health.
Keywords: community-dwelling; older adults; oral health; social isolation.
© 2023 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Academy of Nursing Science.