Abstract
BackgroundWe investigated the association between psychological distress and oral health status/oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Nagasaki Islands Study. A total of 1183 (455 men and 728 women) has been analyzed in this study. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). Oral health status was measured by dental examination. The OHQoL was measured using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). We defined the total score of ≥5 points on the K6 as high psychological distress (high-K6 group).ResultsThe multiple linear regression analysis to identify the GOHAI showed that gender, K6, the total number of teeth, the number of dental caries, and visiting a dental clinic within the past 6 months significantly associated with the GOHAI. Among all of these variables, high-K6 (≥ 5) was a substantial contributing factor of the GOHAI (β = − 0.23, 95% Cl − 2.31 to −1.41, p < 0.0001).ConclusionsIt is likely that the individual with high psychological distress was strongly related to poor OHQoL even in the general population.
Highlights
We investigated the association between psychological distress and oral health status/oral healthrelated quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people
The results of our analyses demonstrated that psychological distress as defined by a Kessler Psychological Distress 6-Question Short-Form Scale (K6) score ≥ 5 points and OHQoL defined by the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) were strongly related in this communitydwelling population
We observed that high psychological distress reflected by the K6 score was associated with female gender, the lack of habitual exercise, no social participation with neighbors, falling within the prior year, and low OHQoL as shown by the GOHAI
Summary
We investigated the association between psychological distress and oral health status/oral healthrelated quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people. Patients with mental illnesses had a higher proportion of oral problems such as dental caries, periodontal disease, and edentulousness compared to a general population [8,9,10]. Et al [8, 9] suggested that oral health interventions for patients with mental illnesses should include advice on lifestyle habits and oral hygiene, the management of iatrogenic dry mouth, and early dental referral. It is important to develop and evaluate interventions that will increase the utilization of dental care ( preventive dental services) among people with mental illness in order to improve their oral health and reduce the dental expenditures among this vulnerable population [11]
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