Association of self-perceived oral health and depression in the elderly: the sixth Korea national health and nutrition examination survey(the 6th KNHANES)

Abstract

Objectives:The aim of the study was to investigate the association of self-perceived oral health and depression in the Korean elderly. Methods: The subjects were 1,329 elderly in Korea from the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (the 6th KNHANES). The dependent variable was depression that continued more than two weeks. Model Ⅰ for the impacts of depression on self-reported oral health, Model Ⅱ for the impacts of depression on chewing problem, Model Ⅲ for the impacts of depression on speaking problem was evaluated. PASW Statistics 18.0 version was used for frequency analysis, chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. Results: Female elderly were much more prone to depression than male. Female had lower monthly compensation, less medicaid, chewing problem, speaking problem, and less education. For these reasons, they tended to have more depression than male (p<0.001). Self-perceived oral health impacts on depression included poor self-reported oral health(p<0.01), poor chewing problem(p<0.01) and poor speaking problem(p<0.05). On the other hand, male did not show a statistically significant association. Conclusions:The study showed the self-perceived oral health related quality of life had a significant influence on depression in the elderly. The continuing lifelong oral health care can prevent depression in the later life because oral health care improvement can enhance the self-perceived oral health status.

How Does the Frequency of Eating-Alone among Older People in Korea Affect Their Health and Dietary Behavior?

“…For example, the topics of these studies were "the comparison of perceptions about eating alone and eating behaviors between male and female university students", "the relationship between nutrient intake and metabolic syndrome for middle-aged adults who eat alone", "comparison between eating with family and eating alone in adolescents", and "the effects of eating alone or eating together with the family on pediatric mental and physical health." Additionally, a study on older individuals that investigated the association between eating alone and depression in older Korean females did not examine the frequency of eating alone as an eating behavior in relation to health-related indices [12,[32][33][34][35][36]. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of eating alone among older adults aged 65 years or older [12,[32][33][34][35][36].…”

“…Additionally, a study on older individuals that investigated the association between eating alone and depression in older Korean females did not examine the frequency of eating alone as an eating behavior in relation to health-related indices [12,[32][33][34][35][36]. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of eating alone among older adults aged 65 years or older [12,[32][33][34][35][36]. In addition, we aim to describe the general characteristics of this population and then identify individual eating habits.…”