J Korean Acad Oral Health.  2020 Jun;44(2):85-90. 10.11149/jkaoh.2020.44.2.85.

Relationship of loneliness and subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly

• Cho HK
• Jung YS
• Heo HJ
• Youm YS
• Song KB
• Choi YH

• KMID: 2503651
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11149/jkaoh.2020.44.2.85

Abstract

Objectives
Loneliness was associated with not only social status but also general health. Psychological conditions in older people have negative effects on general health and oral health. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between loneliness and subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly.
Methods
This cross-sectional study analyzed the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) for the questionnaire, UCLA loneliness scale data of 1,511 older adults living in a rural community. Logistic regression was conducted to identify the relevance of subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly according to the level of loneliness.
Results
According to the final model that after adjustment for other risk factors (age, gender, level of education, smoking, drinking, etc.), in the elderly who rarely feel loneliness group compared to the elderly who never feel loneliness was Odds ratio (OR) 1.256 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.99-1.60) and sometimes+often feel loneliness was OR 2.110 (95% CI: 1.39-3.21).
Conclusions
Loneliness is associated with subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly. Older people feeling loneliness are likely to have more subjective chewing discomfort.

Keyword

Chewing discomfort; Loneliness; Oral health; Older people

Reference

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