Complete tooth loss and allostatic load changes later in life: A 12-year follow-up analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

OBJECTIVE There is little evidence of the association between complete tooth loss and allostatic load (AL). We investigated, firstly, the association between complete tooth loss and changes in AL over 12 years among older English adults. A second aim was to explore the role of fruit and vegetable consumption in explaining the above association. METHODS AL was calculated for 2,430 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort (2004/5-2016/17) participants aged 50 years and older based on nine biomarkers: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glycated haemoglobin, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and waist circumference. The exposure was complete tooth loss. Participants were classified as dentate or edentulous. A linear mixed effects (LME) model was fitted to model the 12-year change in AL score and its association with complete tooth loss after adjustments for confounders (demographic factors, socioeconomic position and health behaviours). RESULTS Around 11% of the participants were edentulous. Complete tooth loss was positively associated with baseline AL scores but not with its rate of change over time. The predicted mean AL score was 3·60 (95%CI: 3·53, 3·68) and 3·98 (95%CI: 3·76, 4·21) as well as 4·28 (95%CI: 4·18, 4·39) and 4·66 (95%CI: 4·42, 4·90) for dentate and edentulous participants, at baseline and end of follow-up, respectively. Fruit and vegetable consumption was not associated with baseline AL or its rate of change. CONCLUSIONS Complete tooth loss was associated with baseline AL score but not with its development over time whereas the consumption of fruit and vegetables did not help to explain this association. Both conditions may share common determinants earlier in life.