The Impact of Oral Health and Dental Services on the Prevalence of Subjective Cognitive Decline Among Middle-Aged and Older US Adults: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022

In the 2022 BRFSS survey, 83,479 people from 18 states aged 45 years or older answered the optional SCD module. Of these, 9,313 reported SCD. From these, we excluded 294 for missing responses, leaving 9,019 respondents for our study, 2,905 reporting excellent or good oral health and 6,224 reporting fair or poor oral health. Among the 83,479 respondents with SCD, 74,366 reported no SCD with 1,977 excluded for missing responses. This left 72,180 respondents without SCD, 33,492 with excellent or good oral health, and 38,697 with fair or poor oral health. In summary, 83,479 respondents were analyzed, 3,121 were excluded for missing responses, and 80,358 were included in the crude regression model. Of the 83,479 respondents in the regression analysis, 6,000 were excluded for missing responses, leaving 77,479 respondents in the adjusted regression model.

Figure 2.
Weighted prevalence of subjective cognitive decline among adults aged 45 years by number of teeth removed and oral health status (N = 83,479), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2022 (21).