December 2013

Objective: Depression, as one of the most common mental health problems, has many related factors. Recent studies have suggested chewing difficulties as a risk factor for depression in the elderly. This study seeks to investigate whether chewing ability is associated with depressive symptoms in a Korean population. Methods: This study used data from the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V) conducted in 2010. Self-reported questionnaires assessed depressive symptoms and chewing ability for the purposes of this study. A total of 6,255 subjects aged over 19 years were included for this study (2,704 males and 3,551 females). Results: Comparing depressive symptoms with chewing ability (i.e., very poor, poor, moderate, good, and very good), the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CI) were 1.05 (95%CI: 0.84–1.32) for good vs. very good (as a reference), 1.31 (95%CI: 1.00–1.73) for moderate vs. very good, 1.41 (95%CI: 1.12–1.78) for poor vs. very good, and 1.76 (95%CI: 1.16–2.76) for very poor vs. very good. Conclusion: This study suggests that subjects with reduced chewing ability were more susceptible to having depressive symptoms. Key words: chewing ability, depressive symptoms, Korea