title: Correlation between depressive symptoms and subjective mastication ability and ability to pronunciation among Korean elderly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Society, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Min Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry/Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Gyun
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bo Youl
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D009909:Oral Health; D010700:Phonetics; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology
keywords: Chewing difficulty; Depressive symptoms; Elderly; Oral health; Pronunciation discomfort