UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London, UK.
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2018 Mar 2;73(3):382-386. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbw024.
This study examined whether oral health is a neglected aspect of subjective well-being (SWB) among older adults. The key research question was whether deterioration in oral health among dentate older adults living in England was associated with decreases in SWB, using measures of eudemonic, evaluative, and affective dimensions of well-being.
This secondary analysis used data from the third (2006-2007) and fifth (2010-2011) waves of respondents aged 50 and older from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). We fitted multivariable regression models to examine the effects of changes in oral impacts on daily life and edentulism (complete tooth loss) on SWB (quality of life, life satisfaction, and depressive symptomatology).
A worsening in both oral health measures was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms even after adjusting for time-varying confounders including declining health, activities of daily living, and reduced social support. Becoming edentate was also associated with decreases in quality of life and life satisfaction.
A deterioration in oral health and oral health-related quality of life increases the risk of depressive symptoms among older adults and highlights the importance of oral health as a determinant of subjective well-being in later life.
本研究探讨了口腔健康是否是老年人主观幸福感（SWB）被忽视的一个方面。关键研究问题是，在英国居住的有牙老年人的口腔健康恶化是否与 SWB 下降有关，使用幸福的幸福论、评价和情感维度的衡量标准。
本二次分析使用了来自英国老龄化纵向研究（ELSA）的年龄在 50 岁及以上的受访者在第三（2006-2007 年）和第五（2010-2011 年）波次的数据。我们拟合了多变量回归模型，以检验日常生活中口腔影响和无牙（完全失牙）变化对 SWB（生活质量、生活满意度和抑郁症状）的影响。
即使在调整了随时间变化的混杂因素（包括健康状况下降、日常生活活动和社会支持减少）后，这两种口腔健康措施的恶化都与抑郁症状的增加有关。无牙也与生活质量和生活满意度的下降有关。
口腔健康和口腔健康相关生活质量的恶化增加了老年人出现抑郁症状的风险，并强调了口腔健康作为晚年主观幸福感决定因素的重要性。
