Abstract

OBJECTIVESThe present study examines the relationship between depressive symptoms and subjective chewing and pronunciation ability in Korean seniors. Our goal is to provide the data required to develop appropriate oral health interventions programs for seniors.METHODSThe Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) is widely used depressive symptoms assessment. A Korean version was used for the 2009 Community Health Survey, which was consulted to extract the present study’s participants comprising 50,694 Korean seniors (males, 20,582; females, 30,112) aged ≥65 years. Those with a CES-D score ≥16 were rated ‘depressed.’ SAS version 9.3 was used for the data analysis.RESULTSPrevalence of depressive symptoms increased as the participants socioeconomic status decreased, number of health issues increased, health behavior worsened, and chewing and pronunciation discomfort increased. Males with chewing difficulties were found to have 1.45 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 to 1.63) greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without, while males with pronunciation discomfort were found to have 1.97 times greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without (95% CI, 1.76 to 2.20). Females with chewing difficulty were found to have 1.50 times (95% CI, 1.39 to 1.61) greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without, and females with pronunciation discomfort were found to have 1.55 times greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without (95% CI, 1.44 to 1.67).CONCLUSIONSIntervention programs designed to help with oral health management and alleviate depressive symptoms in seniors are urgently needed. As the prevalence of depressive symptoms may vary geographically, research examining potential variance at city, district, and town levels would be beneficial.

Highlights

  • The present study examines correlations between depressive symptoms and subjective mastication ability and ability to pronounce in the elderly Korean population

  • 48.9% complained of chewing difficulty, 25.6% of pronunciation discomfort, and 12.7% reported depressive symptoms (CES-D 16 points or more)

  • The current study found that females experiencing chewing difficulty had 1.50 times greater risk of developing depressive symptoms than female with no chewing difficulties

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Summary

Introduction

Received: May 30, 2016, Accepted: Jul 25, 2016, Published: Jul 25, 2016 This article is available from: http://e-epih.org/. The National Insurance Review and Assessment Service (2014) suggest individuals aged 65 years and older account for 11.95% of the nation’s population−a 0.4% increase from the previous year−and were responsible for 35.5% of total healthcare cost, a 1.0% increase from the previous year. Chronic gingivitis and other periodontal diseases increased the outpatient healthcare cost to 122.3 billion Korean won (KRW) annually (30.1% increase), with a per-patient healthcare cost of 68,000 KRW [3] As such, continued efforts are needed to improve the oral health of elderly persons

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