Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, College of Medicine and Catholic Institute for Healthcare Management, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Int J Public Health. 2023 Mar 28;68:1605403. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1605403. eCollection 2023.
The aim of this study was to examine the association between changes in oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) and depressive symptoms in the elderly South Koreans. We used the 2018 and 2020 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing data. Our study population was a total of 3,604 participants aged over 65 in 2018. The independent variable of interest was the changes in the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index as OHRQoL between 2018 and 2020. The dependent variable was depressive symptoms in 2020. Multivariable logistic regression analyzed the associations between changes in OHRQoL and depressive symptoms. Participants with improvement in OHRQoL over 2-year period were likely to have fewer depressive symptoms in 2020. Especially, changes in the oral pain and discomfort dimension score was associated with depressive symptoms. A decline in oral physical function, such as difficulty in chewing and speaking, was also associated with depressive symptoms. Negative change in OHRQoL is a risk factor for depression in elderly. This results suggest the importance of maintaining good oral health in later life, as a protective factor against depression.
本研究旨在探讨韩国老年人的口腔健康相关生活质量（OHRQoL）变化与抑郁症状之间的关系。我们使用了 2018 年和 2020 年的韩国老龄化纵向研究数据。我们的研究对象共有 2018 年年龄在 65 岁以上的 3604 名参与者。感兴趣的自变量是 2018 年至 2020 年期间老年口腔健康评估指数（作为 OHRQoL）的变化。因变量是 2020 年的抑郁症状。多变量逻辑回归分析了 OHRQoL 变化与抑郁症状之间的关联。在 2 年期间 OHRQoL 改善的参与者在 2020 年更可能出现较少的抑郁症状。特别是，口腔疼痛和不适维度得分的变化与抑郁症状相关。咀嚼和说话困难等口腔生理功能下降也与抑郁症状相关。OHRQoL 的负向变化是老年人抑郁的一个风险因素。这些结果表明，在晚年保持良好的口腔健康作为预防抑郁的保护因素的重要性。
