Association of depression with dental caries and periodontal disease at a tertiary care hospital.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of depression with dental caries and periodontal disease. METHODS: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the Nishtar Institute of Dentistry, Multan, Pakistan, from May 7, 2018 to January 7, 2019, and comprised samples from subjects with dental caries and periodontal disease. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was applied to screen the participants for the presence or absence of depression. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: Of the 296 participants, 125(42.2%) were males and 171(57.7%) were females. The overall mean age was 38.74±12.87 years. Depression was found in 195(65.8%) patients. Significant association of depression in patients of dental caries and periodontal disease was found with female gender, age <50 years, illiteracy, marital status, pre-existing hypertension, coronary artery disease, illicit substance addiction and psychotropic medication use (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: There was high frequency of depression among patients of dental caries and periodontal disease.