Abstract
This study was conducted to identify the rates of perceived stress of elderly people over 65 years old and to confirm the influence of stress on general health and oral health status. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey for 2014, 1,472 people over 65 years of age were selected as final subjects. Stress was used as an independent variable and dependent variables were included physical health (perceived health status), mental health (depression), and oral health (perceived oral health status). The following confounding variables were adjusted for the current study: demographic characteristics (gender, age, education level, house income) and health - related characteristics (drinking, smoking, exercise, frequency of tooth brushing, using oral care product, dental exam, comorbidity, restrict activity). Complex sampling analysis was applied and logistic regression was performed to determine the effects of stress on physical health, mental health and oral health status. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% Confidence Interval, 95% CI) were calculated. Logistic regression indicated that stress was significantly associated with low physical health (OR=2.18, 95%CI: 1.49-3.20), low mental health (OR=8.68, 95%CI: 4.98-15.11), low oral health (OR=1.53, 95%CI: 1.06-2.21) after adjusting for confounding variables. The perceived stress of the elderly was found to be related to the general health and oral health status. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate stress as a predictor of health risk for the health promotion of the elderly on multidisciplinary assessment and continuous evaluation. In addition, health support policies should be provided to achieve good health status for elderly.
Figures & Tables
Table 1. Participant characteristics according to general health and oral health Status (N =1,527)
