Oral health conditions linked with prevalence of depressive disorders in elderly: study

The last 30 years have presented a scenario of significant changes in the Brazilian family composition. There was a decrease in the fertility rate and the consequent reduction in the average size of families. The uneven decline in fertility rates in adolescents in 32 countries of the Region of the Americas, 1960-2019. In addition, the Brazilian age pyramid revealed phenomena such as the increase in life expectancy and therefore, the trend of an ageing population.

Among chronic diseases, depression can be highlighted, which affects approximately 264 million people worldwide. Depressive disorders in old people appear in the context of other chronic illnesses, disabling illnesses and family problems.

The oral health of old people, institutionalized or not, is fundamental for someone's quality of life for this population. The maintenance of remaining teeth and the ability to occlude are important to prevent functional disabilities and maintain someone's quality of life

A group of researchers conducted a study to map and discuss scientific knowledge involving the research object Oral health conditions and depression in institutionalized old people. The researchers conducted a scope review of the literature mapping type. The mapping of the selected data was done using the data systematization technique through the Summative Content Analysis from the perspective of Manifest Themes in the texts. After the exclusions, 27 articles were selected.

The Results of the study are as follows:

With the analysis of the articles, it was possible to divide them into two themes. All continents have publications on the topic. Regarding its methodology, a lot of research with the design of deductive studies was carried out and few types of research were developed with inductive methods.

Thus, the researcher concluded that the present study identified that there is a communication between some oral health conditions (xerostomia and tooth loss) and the prevalence of depressive disorders in institutionalized old people.

Reference:

Institutionalized old people, depressive disorders, and dental issues: what is the state of the art? By Luiza Guilhermina de Oliveira Lopes et al. published in the Revista brasileira de geriatria e gerontologia.

https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-22562021024.200351