The proposed epidemiologic study of a representative sample of older people living in the six New England states is both timely and unique in that a) even though the American population is aging rapidly, we lack even elementary information as to oral health status of older people; b) oral health status is most likely intimately associated with the quality of life of people with an extended average life span; c) without these data, it is impossible to formulate policies, rationally plan programs, or target future intervention efforts; d) it builds cumulatively on the research recommendations of three concerned federal agencies (NIA, NIDR, and the VA) and focuses directly on the knowledge gaps they identify; e) it represents a multidisciplinary team collaboration of researcher in epidemiology, biostatistics, and social science (with extensive in-home field experience) at the New England Research Institute, and a distinguished group of oral epidemiologists and dental researchers that will be coordinated by the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. The study is deliberately designed to provide important complementary and supplementary data to two nationwide surveys which will provide selected data only on subgroups of the older population (i.e., the ongoing epidemiological survey sponsored by NIDR and the NHANES III). By including older adults, aged 70 and over, in the study population, data on the oral health of the oldest-old (age 85+) will be gathered, a noteworthy omission from both the NIDR study and NHANES III given the rapid expansion of this age group. Data will be gathered from a sample of 2,000 individuals, randomly selected from Medicare beneficiary tapes, age 70 and over, residing in the six New England states. In a two-stage field design utilizing a mixed-mode approach, age-eligible individuals will first be administered a telephone interview, screening for dentate status, followed by in-home dental examinations and interviews for a sample subset of approximately 1200 persons. This study will provide a wealth of social and clinical epidemiological data on the oral health status of older adults, especially the oldest-old, which will be useful in formulating policies and planning intervention programs.
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