Mid-life structural changes to the jawbone may signal subsequent height loss in women, sparking calls for collaboration between dentists and doctors.
Published in the open access journal BMJ Open, research suggests that dentists should collaborate with patients’ doctors as this may open up opportunities for height loss prevention.
The team wanted to find out if the jawbone contains sufficient information about the general condition of the skeleton to predict future height loss.
According to the study, height loss in women tends to speed up over the age of 75 and is associated with increased risks of ill health and death.
Bone shrinkage
Height loss was calculated over three periods of 12 to 13 years – 1968–80, 1980–92 and 1992–2005.
During the second period, the women were aged 62, 70, and 78, and during the third they were aged 75 and 83.
In each period, height loss was greatest in those with severe cortical erosion and those with sparse trabeculation.
Cortical erosion in 1968, 1980 and 1992 significantly predicted height loss 12 years later. Similarly, sparse trabeculation at all three time points also predicted significant bone shrinkage over the next 12 or 13 years.
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Collaboration between teams
The researchers concluded: ‘They may therefore serve as proxy indicators when screening in the early phases of bone degenerative pathogenesis, signalling the ongoing bone remodelling and the need for further clinical attention to older women at risk of height loss
‘Since most individuals visit their dentist at least every two years and radiographs are taken, a collaboration between dentists and physicians may open opportunities for predicting future risk of height loss.’
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