The objective of this paper is to clarify the rate of abdominal obesity (AO), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), metabolic syndrome (MetS) and determine the relationship with the masticatory capacity (MC) in terms of total functional tooth units (t-FTU) in a representative sample of older Spanish adults. This cross-sectional study included 544 adult subjects aged 50 or over, who were prospectively selected and who had participated in a survey conducted in a primary dental care service in a Public Oral Health Service in Spain. Anthropometric, clinical variables and t-FTUs were obtained through a calibrated and well-established protocol. Univariate and multivariate binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses were developed. With regards to the t-FTU or MC, it was poor in 60.3%, good in 17.6%, and complete in 22.1% of the sample. The univariate odss ratio (OR) for MetS and AO increased as the MC decreased and as the age group increased. With regards to gender, women presented with an OR of 5.56 (CI 95% 3.70-8.38). With regards to the WHtR-a3 (WHtR grouped into three categories), the univariate ORs were all significant for morbid obesity compared to the healthy group, with a risk of 6.86 (CI 95% 3.23-14.58) for patients with poor MC compared to those with complete MC. Masticatory hypofunctionality could be associated with the presence of MetS. Clinical relevance: The number of t-FTUs is directly related to AO.
Keywords: Abdominal obesity (AO); Masticatory capacity (MC); Metabolic syndrome (MetS); Total functional tooth units (t-FTU); Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR).