Resumen de Epidemiological survey in elderly people (II): oral health, anxiety, depression, stress, and drug utilization
Rafael Menezes-Silva, Dhelfeson W. Douglas de Oliveira, Paulo Cesar Brambilla Biscaro, Natália Pinheiro Orti, Ana Clara Sá-Pinto, Maria Letícia Ramos-Jorge
Aims: To investigate the correlation between oral health, anxiety, depression, stress, cognitive impairment, and use of medications in the elderly.
Methods: Data were collected using household survey questionnaires on sociodemographic variables and use of medications; oral examinations for detection of decayed, missing, and filled teeth; and questionnaires to verify the presence of psychosocial disorders. The following instruments were applied: mini-mental state examination (cognitive impairment), Katz scale (index of independence), Beck depression inventory, geriatric depression scale (depression), Beck anxiety inventory (anxiety), and Lipp’s stress symptom inventory for adults (stress). The quantity of medication used was also investigated. A descriptive analysis and Spearman’s correlation test were performed.
Results: Thirty-seven elderly individuals, mean age of 73.41 years, were included in the study. The mean DMFT index was 25.38. Mild to moderate depression was detected in 21.6%, anxiety in 45.9%, cognitive impairment in 78.4%, and lower polypharmacy rates in 54.1%. Age and oral health showed a moderate statistically significant positive correlation; age and cognitive impairment revealed a moderate negative correlation; and there was a strong and positive correlation between depression and the resistance stage of stress and between anxiety and the resistance stage of stress.
Conclusions: There was correlation between oral health, anxiety, depression, stress, and medication in the investigated elderly sample.
