Comorbid depression/anxiety and teeth removed: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between participants (i) who reported having had clinical diagnoses of depression and anxiety with 6+ teeth removed and (ii) who reported having had clinical diagnoses of depression and anxiety with edentulism.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Survey 2010 was used for the study. Analyses involved using SAS 9.3® to determine variable frequencies, Rao-Scott chi-square bivariate analyses, and Proc Surveylogistic for the logistic regressions on complex survey designs. Participants eligibility included being 18 years or older and having complete data on depression, anxiety, and number of teeth removed.

There were 76 292 eligible participants; 13.4% reported an anxiety diagnosis, 16.7% reported a depression diagnosis, and 8.6% reported comorbid depression and anxiety. The adjusted logistic regression models were significant for anxiety and depression alone and in combination for 6+ teeth removed (AOR: anxiety 1.23; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.38; P = 0.0773; AOR: depression 1.23; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.37; P = 0.0275; P < 0.0001; and AOR: comorbid depression and anxiety 1.30; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.49; P = 0.0001). However, the adjusted models with edentulism as the outcome failed to reach significance.

Comorbid depression and anxiety are associated independently with 6+ teeth removed compared with 0-5 teeth removed in a national study conducted in United States. Comorbid depression and anxiety were not shown to be associated with edentulism as compared with any teeth present.