Social and health determinants of edentulism among older adults in India

Abstract

The study aimed to estimate the associations between social and health indicators with edentulism among older adults in India. The sample included 52,393 and older adults (≥50 years) from a cross-sectional national community-dwelling survey in India in 2017-2018. Results indicate that the prevalence of edentulism was 8.4%, 8.2% among women and 8.5% among men. In the adjusted logistic regression analysis, older age (≥70 years) (Adjusted Odds Ratio-AOR: 5.77, 95% Confidence Interval-CI: 4.86-6.84), belonging to the Sikh religion (AOR: 2.67, 95% CI: 2.16-3.30), and having difficulties with two or more Activities of Daily Living (ADL)/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) (AOR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.02-1.36) were positively and belonging to other religions or no religion (AOR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.26-0.79) and having overweight or obesity (AOR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.68-0.92) were negatively associated with edentulism. In addition, in unadjusted analysis, having no education and poor or fair self-rated health status were positively, and receipt of health insurance, attendance of religious services and having a medium social network were negatively associated with edentulism. Almost one in ten older adults in India have edentulism, and several associated factors were identified that can be targeted in interventions.