Investigating oral health among individuals with depression: NHANES 2015-2016

Depression is highly prevalent across populations, yet studies on its contribution to oral health are lacking. Therefore, our goal is to examine the association of depression and oral health problems (preventative care, access to dental care, and oral condition in relation to quality of life) controlling for sociodemographic and chronic disease indicators (CDI).

5,992 respondents' data 18+ years old were analyzed from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The independent variable of interest was depression symptoms status. Oral health outcomes were the dependent variables. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression and the Oral Health Questionnaire (OHQ) to measure oral health outcomes. Covariates included sociodemographics (age, education, sex, race/ethnicity, and income) and CDI included current smoking, diabetes, and body mass index. All data were weighted using 2 years sample weight.

The mean age of respondents was 47.22 years (45.97-48.46) and 46% were males. Participants with depression present 6.93%, and females 63.85% were higher than males 36.15%.Participants with depression have significantly low income 43.10% than others p value < 0.0001. After adjusting for sociodemographics and CDI, participants who have depression were more prone to report fair/poor oral condition [aOR = 1.91 (1.29-2.84)], oral pain [aOR = 2.66 (1.91-3.71)], and difficulty accessing needed dental care [aOR = 2.52 (1.96-3.24)] than others. Having depression was associated with poor oral health perceptions [aOR = 2.10 (1.41-3.13)], and having difficulty at job/school because of their oral health [aOR = 2.85 (1.90-4.26)].

Based on the empirical evidence provided by our study, there is an association between depression and oral health outcomes and oral health-related quality of life.