The Effect of Depression on Oral Health in Low-Income Self-Supporting Participants Workers: Focusing on Comparison of Household Types

This study aims to examine the depression and various oral symptoms of low-income selfreliance participating workers and to examine the effect of depression oral symptoms according to household type.The research survey surveyed 1,527 workers participating in 11 regional self-reliance centers (1 in Gyeonggi, 4 in Daegu, 4 in Daejeon, and 2 in Incheon) from April 15 to September 30, 2023.The research analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS 27.0 program, and the difference between depression and oral symptoms was performed using the Chi-squared test.Logistic regression was performed to determine the risk factors affecting depression on oral symptoms, and the results of the study are as follows.1) As a result of investigating the difference in oral symptoms according to the depression, there were significant differences in gingival bleeding(p<0.001),toothache(p<0.001),dry mouth(p<0.001),chewing discomfort(p<0.001),and oral infection(p<0.001) in both multi-person households and single-person households, and oral symptoms were higher in workers with severe levels of depression.2) As a result of the effect of depression on oral symptoms, in multi-person households, self-supporting workers with moderate depression had a 5.11 times increase in gingival bleeding, a 5.08 times increase in toothache, a 5.75 times increase in severe dry mouth, a 6.07 times increase in severe chewing discomfort, and a 3.67 times increase in oral infection.3) In single-person households, the depression among self-supporting workers increased by 5.98 times in gingival bleeding, 6.98 times in toothache, 6.68 times in dry mouth, 7.40 times in chewing discomfort, and 3.58 times in oral infection.The higher the depression, the higher the risk of oral symptoms.It is important to improve the overall quality of life of individuals by providing psychological support and oral health management for low-income single-person households, as well as the high risk of depression and oral symptoms in single-person households.