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Updated: Jan 6, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
English Longitudinal Study of Ageing: Associations Between Common Mental Disorder and Oral Health
Afshan Mirza1, Richard G Watt1, Anja Heilmann1
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.
Aim:
To assess the relationship between common mental disorder and oral health in a representative sample of older adults in England.
Methods:
We analyzed cross-sectional data from 8620 individuals aged 50 years and over who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, wave 3 (2006-2007). Common mental disorder (no/yes) was assessed using the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Oral health outcomes were oral impact on daily performance (no impacts/at least one impact), self-rated oral health (excellent; very good; good/fair; poor), and edentulousness (dentate/edentate). Associations were assessed using Poisson regression with robust variance, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and health factors.
Results:
Reporting at least one oral impact on daily performance was more prevalent among those with a common mental disorder than those without (PR = 1.60; 95% CI 1.32-1.96), as was reporting fair/poor self-rated oral health (PR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.09-1.40) in fully adjusted analyses. We found no association between common mental disorder and edentulousness.
Conclusion:
In this sample of UK older adults, common mental disorder was associated with poorer oral health. To promote healthy ageing, older adults with a common mental disorder should be supported to maintain good oral health.
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