While providing care for others, many caregivers seem to forget about their own well-being, including their oral health, new study findings suggest.
"Our results indicate that caregiving is associated with elevated plaque and gingivitis levels, thus indicating that this demanding task, usually associated with increasing stress, is a significant risk factor of poor oral hygiene," the researchers write in the Journal of Periodontology.
Caretakers "need some time to take care of themselves," study co-author Dr Fernando N. Hugo, of the State University of Campinas in Sao Paulo, Brazil, told Reuters Health.
It has long been established that chronic stress, depression and levels of the stress hormone cortisol are associated with a person's risk of illness and death from various conditions. Little research has looked at the role of these factors in oral health, however.
The researchers assessed the study participants' level of stress and depression symptoms and analysed the levels of cortisol in their saliva.
They found that being a caregiver was associated with poorer oral health, including a four-fold greater likelihood of having elevated plaque levels and more than double the risk of gingivitis, in comparison to non-caregivers, Hugo and his team report.