Tooth loss associated with depression and anxiety

Researchers have associated tooth loss with depression and anxiety.

In the study, researchers examined a potential association of tooth loss with depression and anxiety.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Survey is a complex, telephone survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments. In this study, the researchers used the BRFSS 2010 data (451,075 respondents).

Analysis involved frequency, Chi square analysis, and complex survey logistic regression. Participants eligibility included being 19 years or older, and having complete data on depression, anxiety and tooth loss.

There were 76,292 eligible participants; and 13.4 per cent of participants reported anxiety, 16.7 per cent reported depression, and 5.7 per cent reported total tooth loss. The sample was evenly distributed between males and females; there were 68.7 per cent non-Hispanic whites, 12.7 per cent non-Hispanic blacks, 12.5 per cent Hispanics, and 6.8 per cent other.

In Chi-square analysis by tooth loss: depression, anxiety, and a combined category of depression or anxiety were significantly different in tooth loss (p less than 0.0001) v. participants without the conditions. The unadjusted odds ratio for tooth loss and anxiety was 1.58 (95 per cent CI: 1.46, 1.71; p less than 0001); for depression: 1.64 (95 per cent CI: 1.52, 1.77; p less than 0001); and for anxiety or depression as a combined category: 1.55 (95 per cent CI: 1.44, 1.66; p less than 0001). The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for anxiety was 1.13 (95 per cent CI: 0.99, 1.30; p=0.0773); for depression: 1.16 (95 per cent CI: 1.02, 1.32; p=0.0275); and in a separate analysis of the combined anxiety or depression category, the AOR was 1.23 (95 per cent CI: 1.11, 1.36).

At the conclusion of this national study, the researchers found that depression and anxiety are associated with tooth loss.