Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders and Dental Fear

Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate the comorbidity of anxiety and depressive disorders and dental fear among adult Finns. Materials and methods: The two-stage stratified cluster sample represented Finnish adults aged 30 years and older. The single question on dental fear was dichotomized to very vs. somewhat or not at all afraid of visiting a dentist. Structured standardized psychiatric interview technique, the Munich version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (MCIDI), was used for assessment of 12-month prevalence of depressive disorder (one or more of following: major depression, dystymia) and anxiety disorder (one or more of following: generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, agoraphobia, not including phobic anxiety). Those subjects with no diagnosis, only depressive or anxiety disorder or both were selected for analysis (n=5812). Statistical significances of the differences in dental fear among MCIDI groups, and also by gender, were assessed using chi-squared tests. Results: Among all participants high dental fear was more prevalent among those with both depressive and anxiety disorders than among those with no or either depressive or anxiety disorder. The difference was statistically significant among female but not among male subjects. (Table)

Conclusion: Those adult Finns, especially women, who have both anxiety and depressive disorder are more likely to have dental anxiety than those with no or only one mental disorder. This suggests that some people are vulnerable for anxiety and depressive disorders as well as for dental fear. Supported by the Finnish Dental Society Apollonia.