A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Associations of dental anxiety, depression, and general anxiety: A structural equation modeling study in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986
Authors: Kajita, Mika; Choudhary, Priyanka; Pohjola, Vesa; Humphris, Gerald; Miettunen, Jouko; Lahti, Satu
Publisher: Wiley
Publication year: 2026
Journal: European Journal of Oral Sciences
Article number: e70062
ISSN: 0909-8836
eISSN: 1600-0722
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eos.70062
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1111/eos.70062
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508371608
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
We aimed to estimate the associations between anticipatory and treatment-related dental anxiety and depression and general anxiety at the latent level. This crosssectional study analyzed data from 3320 adults aged 33–35 years in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. Dental anxiety was measured with the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale and general anxiety and depression with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor model with a residual correlation for dental anxiety (comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.999, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.038). Structural equation modeling was used to estimate primary latent correlations between anticipatory dental anxiety, treatment-related dental anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Secondary models adjusted for sex, education, and smoking. Depression and general anxiety correlated strongly (r = 0.72). Both anticipatory and treatment-related dental anxiety showed modest associations with general anxiety (r = 0.16–0.18), whereas associations with depression were weaker and attenuated after adjustment. The two dental anxiety constructs were strongly interrelated (r = 0.85). Female sex, lower education, and smoking predicted higher dental anxiety. These findings support the distinctiveness of the two constructs of dental anxiety from depression and general anxiety, though partly overlapping with the latter. Future research should further clarify their developmental pathways and shared mechanisms.
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Funding information in the publication:
The NFBC1986 33–35-year follow-up study received financial support from the University of Oulu (strategic funding from donations) and Oulu University Hospital (grant no. K65760). The oral health study was partially supported by the Research Council of Finland (formerly the Academy of Finland, grant no. 326189). Priyanka Choudhary (PC) is supported by the Research Council of Finland (Profi6, grant no. 336449). Mika Kajita's (MK) contribution to this manuscript was co-funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2021–2027 under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101126611, as part of the SYS-LIFE postdoctoral programme.
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