Association between high psychological distress and poor oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people: the Nagasaki Islands Study

Background We investigated the association between psychological distress and oral health status/oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Nagasaki Islands Study. A total of 1183 (455 men and 728 women) has been analyzed in this study. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). Oral health status was measured by dental examination. The OHQoL was measured using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). We defined the total score of ≥5 points on the K6 as high psychological distress (high-K6 group). Results The multiple linear regression analysis to identify the GOHAI showed that gender, K6, the total number of teeth, the number of dental caries, and visiting a dental clinic within the past 6 months significantly associated with the GOHAI. Among all of these variables, high-K6 (≥ 5) was a substantial contributing factor of the GOHAI ( β = − 0.23, 95% Cl − 2.31 to −1.41, p < 0.0001). Conclusions It is likely that the individual with high psychological distress was strongly related to poor OHQoL even in the general population.