Dementia, a representative age-related disease, is a condition prioritized as a public health issue by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The purpose is to early identify populations at risk and take immediate action to reduce disease burden and enhance the effectiveness of preventing the progression of dementia.

 

This type of dementia exhibits a wide range of symptoms, from very mild memory impairment to severe behavioral disturbances, depending on the degree of progression.

Language impairments such as difficulties in speaking, reading, and writing, decline in spatial and temporal awareness, changes in personality, and abnormal behaviors are also considered major symptoms of dementia.

Therefore, it is most important for the individual or their family to recognize these symptoms early on.

Although there is no fundamental cure for dementia yet, in the early stages, it is possible to slow its progression to some extent through existing medications and treatments.

 

Recently, in Korea, a study has suggested that a decline in chewing ability in old age may also be a warning sign of increased risk of dementia, and caution is needed.

 

A joint research team from Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, and Gangbuk Samsung Hospital's Institute of Corporate Mental Health Research published a study in the latest issue of the Journal of the Korean Medical Science (JKMS), which observed a correlation between decline in writing ability among the elderly and the risk of dementia.

The research team conducted an 8-year follow-up study on 5,064 community-dwelling elderly individuals aged 60 and above (2,195 men and 2,869 women) to examine the impact of declining chewing function on the development of dementia.

 

The chewing function evaluated the average number of chews before swallowing rice over a period of one year.

In this result, among men, those who chew more than 30 times before swallowing food showed a faster decline in overall cognitive function and memory compared to men who chew less than 10 times.

The research team estimated that men who chew more than 30 times have a 2.9 times higher risk of developing dementia compared to men who chew less than 10 times.

Among dementia types, Alzheimer's disease, which has a worse prognosis, had a 3.2 times higher risk of occurrence under the same comparison conditions.

The research team’s analysis indicates that, on average, increasing the number of chews per meal by 5 times is associated with a 16% and 23% increase in the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease, respectively.

 

The association between increased chewing frequency and dementia in elderly men was also confirmed through brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Men who chewed more frequently showed a reduction in the volume of brain regions associated with mastication regulation and Alzheimer's disease, such as the white matter, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe.

 

On the other hand, no significant association was observed between the number of chewing cycles, the risk of dementia, and brain volume in elderly women.

The research team recommended that if an increase in chewing frequency in old age occurs, which could be a compensatory behavior for dementia pathology, individuals should visit a nearby health center or hospital to undergo a dementia screening.

 

 

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I thought that chewing a lot would help with digestion.

Is there a problem with your cognition?

Especially, elderly men are experiencing a higher incidence.