Correlation between depressive symptoms and subjective mastication ability and ability to pronunciation among Korean elderly.

OBJECTIVES: The present study examines the relationship between depressive symptoms and subjective chewing and pronunciation ability in Korean seniors. Our goal is to provide the data required to develop appropriate oral health interventions programs for seniors.

METHODS: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) is widely used depressive symptoms assessment. A Korean version was used for the 2009 Community Health Survey, which was consulted to extract the present study's participants comprising 50,694 Korean seniors (males, 20,582; females, 30,112) aged ≥65 years. Those with a CES-D score ≥16 were rated 'depressed.' SAS version 9.3 was used for the data analysis.

RESULTS: Prevalence of depressive symptoms increased as the participants socioeconomic status decreased, number of health issues increased, health behavior worsened, and chewing and pronunciation discomfort increased. Males with chewing difficulties were found to have 1.45 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 to 1.63) greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without, while males with pronunciation discomfort were found to have 1.97 times greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without (95% CI, 1.76 to 2.20). Females with chewing difficulty were found to have 1.50 times (95% CI, 1.39 to 1.61) greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without, and females with pronunciation discomfort were found to have 1.55 times greater risk of depressive symptoms than those without (95% CI, 1.44 to 1.67).

CONCLUSIONS: Intervention programs designed to help with oral health management and alleviate depressive symptoms in seniors are urgently needed. As the prevalence of depressive symptoms may vary geographically, research examining potential variance at city, district, and town levels would be beneficial.