Objectives: : This study aimed to investigate the association between the number of remaining teeth and mental health indicators among adults in local communities in South Korea.
Methods: Of adults aged 50 years or older who participated in the 7th Ko...
Objectives: : This study aimed to investigate the association between the number of remaining teeth and mental health indicators among adults in local communities in South Korea.
Methods: Of adults aged 50 years or older who participated in the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2016, 2018), a total of 4,324 participants who underwent the oral examination and completed the mental health questionnaire were included in the final analysis. Using dental status records from the oral examination, the number of remaining teeth in participants were classified into the following categories: 'Good (≥20)', 'Fair (11-19)', and 'Bad (≤10)'. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health status and health behavior, oral health status, dental examination indicators, and mental health indicators according to the classification of the number of remaining teeth were analyzed using the chi-square test. Finally, the independent relationship between the classification of number of remaining teeth and mental health indicators (depressive symptoms, perceived stress levels, sleep duration, experience of planning suicide, psychological counseling related to planning suicide) was evaluated using a logistic regression analysis, and the odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.
Results:: In terms of the classification of the number of remaining teeth, 3,117 participants (72.1%) were classified as Good (≥20), 594 (13.7%) were classified as Fair (11-19), and 613 (14.2%) were classified as Bad (≤10). After adjusting for major variables, the odds ratio of 'high depressive symptoms’ (assessed using participants’ scores for the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 ≥10 points) (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.08-2.36) was significantly higher in the group whose remaining number of teeth were classified as Fair, compared to the group whose remaining number of teeth were classified as Good. In addition, the odds ratio of experience of suicide planning was significantly higher in the group classified as Fair compared to the group classified as Good (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.21-3.41). On the other hand, the Poor group had a significantly lower odds ratio (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.17-0.98) of' experienced in mental counseling. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in all mental health indicators between the group classified as Bad and the group classified as Good, and no significant difference was observed in perceived stress levels, sleep duration, and psychological counseling between the group classified as Normal and the group classified as Good.
Conclusion: Depressive symptoms and experience of suicide planning were significantly higher among Korean adults with a lower number of remaining teeth. Active oral health management efforts are therefore needed to prevent mental health problems through managing the number of remaining functional teeth, and to improve the health-related quality of life among Korean adults.