Subjective food intake ability related to oral health-related quality of life and psychological health

Reduced food intake ability can restrict an individual's choice of foods and might have a significant impact on the individual's quality of life and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between self-reported masticatory ability and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) and psychological health. The study included 72 (26 men, 46 women) adults with a mean age of 26.4 +/- 8.6 years. Each participant completed the key subjective food intake ability (KFIA) test for five key foods, the Korean version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14K) and three questionnaires for measuring anxiety, depression and self-esteem. The participants were distributed into two groups by sex (a mean age of 23.9 +/- 5.2 for men and 27.9 +/- 9.8 for women) and by the median KFIA score. There were no significant differences in any of the variables according to sex. Thirty-two participants (12 men, 20 women) in the lower KFIA group had a higher total OHIP-14K (P < 0.001) and depression level (P < 0.05) than the 40 participants (14 men, 26 women) in the higher KFIA group. As the KFIA decreased, OHRQOL worsened (P < 0.001) and depression increased (P < 0.05). Participants with lower KFIA scores were more than 4.3 times as likely as to have a poor OHRQOL than the reference group (odds ratio, 4.348; 95% confidence interval, 1.554-12.170, P < 0.01). Lower subjective food intake ability is associated with a poor oral health-related quality of life and higher depression level.