RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENERAL HEALTH, SOCIAL-FACTORS AND ORAL HEALTH IN WOMEN AT THE AGE OF RETIREMENT

Relationships between some medical, psychological, social factors and oral health were analyzed within a comprehensive study of women around the age of retirement. The study was performed in Malmo in 1985-1986 and included 165 women retiring from work between 851201 and 870131. Women in qualified professional positions and with high prosperity indices had on average significantly more remaining teeth and were less often edentulous than the others. The same applied to unmarried women compared to divorcees and widows. There were significant correlations between full blood glucose and serum urate concentrations and number of teeth, DFT and DFS. The mean number of prescribed drugs was negatively related to the number of remaining teeth and high drug consumption was positively related to oral dryness. Women complaining of strain, overwork, restlessness and difficulty in relaxing reported more often problems with oral dryness. Oral dryness was also related to high blood values of calcium, urate and triglycerides, while the serum levels of cholesterol were low. There were no differences between smokers and non-smokers concerning any of the studied tooth-related variables, oral dryness, hypertension or bodyweight. The results indicate a close relationship between general health, social factors and oral health.