Association of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms with Periodontal Disease in Korean Women / 치위생과학회지

ABSTRACT

Periodontal diseases occur from the interplay between increased bacterial response and the response of the host immune system over time. Anxiety and depression can impair immunological defense mechanisms, causing accumulation of periodontopathogens and thus exacerbating periodontal disease. We investigated the relationship of anxiety and depression to periodontal diseases in Korean women. In this study, 3,551 women aged ≥19 years were evaluated based on data from the first year (2010) of the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The analysis of the factors that caused periodontal diseases revealed that dental floss or interdental toothbrush nonuse behaviors have been shown to increase the risk of periodontal disease (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14~1.95). After adjusting for conditions such as age, marital status, income, educational level, economic activity, diabetes mellitus, smoking, drinking, and frequencies of toothbrushing and interdental cleaning, we found that anxiety and depression increased the risk of developing periodontal diseases (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.04~2.09). People with anxiety and depression have a higher prevalence of periodontal diseases than people without anxiety and depression. Thus, periodic periodontal care and effective self-care education are needed to manage periodontal diseases.