Associations between oral health and depressive symptoms: Findings from the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project
Type
ArticleAuthor/s
Wright, FTakehara, S
Stanaway, F
Naganathan, V
Blyth, F
Hirani, V
Le Couteur, D
Handelsman, D
Waite, L
Seibel, M
Cumming, R
Abstract
Objective To investigate whether poorer oral health, tooth loss and lower usage of dental services are associated with depressive symptoms in older Australian men. Methods Cross‐sectional study of data collected from participants of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. ...
See moreObjective To investigate whether poorer oral health, tooth loss and lower usage of dental services are associated with depressive symptoms in older Australian men. Methods Cross‐sectional study of data collected from participants of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Geriatric Depression Scale. Chewing capacity was estimated by ability to chew 11 food items. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 17.5%. Self‐evaluated oral health, chewing capacity and the number of natural and decayed teeth were associated with depressive symptoms. After adjusting for multiple confounders, chewing capacity (PR 1.93; 95% CI 1.34‐2.79) and decayed teeth (PR 1.68; 95% CI 1.03‐2.75) maintained a significant association with depressive symptoms. Conclusion The direction of causality between oral health and depression is unclear; however, oral health may contribute to depression in older Australian men and depressive symptoms may limit chewing capacity and be aggravated by untreated dental decay.
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See moreObjective To investigate whether poorer oral health, tooth loss and lower usage of dental services are associated with depressive symptoms in older Australian men. Methods Cross‐sectional study of data collected from participants of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Geriatric Depression Scale. Chewing capacity was estimated by ability to chew 11 food items. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 17.5%. Self‐evaluated oral health, chewing capacity and the number of natural and decayed teeth were associated with depressive symptoms. After adjusting for multiple confounders, chewing capacity (PR 1.93; 95% CI 1.34‐2.79) and decayed teeth (PR 1.68; 95% CI 1.03‐2.75) maintained a significant association with depressive symptoms. Conclusion The direction of causality between oral health and depression is unclear; however, oral health may contribute to depression in older Australian men and depressive symptoms may limit chewing capacity and be aggravated by untreated dental decay.
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Date
2020-01-13Publisher
WileyLicence
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Wright, F. A. C., Takehara, S., Stanaway, F. F., Naganathan, V., Blyth, F. M., Hirani, V., Le Couteur, D. G., Handelsman, D. J., Waite, L. M., Seibel, M. J., & Cumming, R. G. (2020). Associations between oral health and depressive symptoms: Findings from the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. Australasian Journal on Ageing. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajag.12763, which has been published in final form at: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajag.12763. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Citation
Wright, F. A. C., Takehara, S., Stanaway, F. F., Naganathan, V., Blyth, F. M., Hirani, V., Le Couteur, D. G., Handelsman, D. J., Waite, L. M., Seibel, M. J., & Cumming, R. G. (2020). Associations between oral health and depressive symptoms: Findings from the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project. Australasian Journal on Ageing. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajag.12763Share