Health Reports, October 2025

Missing teeth associated with higher hospitalization risk among Canadian adults

Oral health is an important component of overall health, yet its relationship with general health outcomes is not fully understood. A new study, "Missing teeth, mortality, and hospitalization: A population-based cohort analysis from the Canadian Health Measures Survey and linked databases," explores this link by analyzing data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007 to 2009), which were linked to death and hospital discharge records. The study investigates whether tooth loss is associated with increased risks of mortality and hospitalization.

The study showed that, among adults aged 20 to 79 years, participants with five or more missing teeth had a 76% higher risk of all-cause hospitalization and a 120% higher risk of hospitalization for circulatory system diseases compared with those with no missing teeth, after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status and diabetes. Missing teeth were also associated with increased risk of hospitalization for respiratory diseases. No significant association with missing teeth was observed for hospitalization related to digestive diseases or cancer.

While unadjusted analyses show that missing teeth were linked to higher all-cause and cancer mortalities, these associations were no longer statistically significant after accounting for socioeconomic factors, like age and sex, and health-related factors, such as chronic health conditions.

These findings suggest that missing teeth may serve as an indicator of overall health and use of health services among Canadian adults. Understanding the role of oral health in predicting hospitalization can help inform preventive strategies and integrated care approaches.

Microsimulation modelling helps plan for effective roll-out of human papillomavirus testing for better detection of cervical cancer

Canada has committed to reducing the cervical cancer rate to fewer than four cases per 100,000 women by 2040. A key strategy in pursuit of this goal is to improve early detection through cancer screening. While most provinces and territories use Pap tests in their cervical cancer screening programs, many of them are considering switching to human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, which is more sensitive, requires less frequent testing and allows for self-testing. However, this change could increase demand for follow-up colposcopy testing, which may be difficult to manage.

A new study, "The OncoSim-Cervix cancer microsimulation model: Unveiling roll-out strategies for human papillomavirus primary testing," explores three HPV testing roll-out strategies: a one-time roll-out, a two-year population-based roll-out and a three-year age-based roll-out. In general, all HPV testing roll-out strategies improved clinical outcomes compared with Pap testing, with there being about 20% fewer cervical cancer cases and 18% fewer cervical cancer deaths, even with less frequent screening (i.e., every five years instead of every three). Compared with cytology screening, the one-time roll-out of HPV testing initially sharply increased colposcopy referrals by 60%, while phased implementation produced smaller peaks of 35% and 40% followed by declining referrals.

Microsimulation tools like OncoSim help policymakers test complex scenarios and evaluate their long-term impacts before implementation. These findings offer valuable guidance for provinces and territories planning a shift in cervical cancer screening.