Functional dependency and oral health-related quality of life in a 15-year cohort of older adults: a case-control study

Abstract

Objective to investigate the relationship between the increase in functional dependence and the deterioration of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in older people after 15 years. Method This is a case-control study nested in a cohort of elderly people followed for 15 years from the SABE Study (Health, Wellbeing and Aging). OHRQoL was measured using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) in the years 2000 and 2015. The outcome was determined by participants who began to report unsatisfactory OHRQOL, defined by a score ≤50, after 15 years. Exposures were sociodemographic conditions, general living conditions and clinical variables. Logistic regression was used in data analysis. Results Out of cohort participants who assessed their OHRQOL as satisfactory/regular in the year 2000, 53 individuals that assessed as unsatisfactory were considered cases and 194 that maintained their OHRQOL were controls in the year 2015. The average age of the cohort in 2015 was 82.6 years; 68.1% were women. Negative changes in functional dependence on instrumental activities (OR=2.50 CI95% 1.05-6.01; p=0.039), number of teeth (OR=3.96 CI95% 0.99-15.83; p=0.052) and insufficient income (OR=3.52 CI95% 0.94-13,18; p=0.061) showed an association with the outcome. Conclusion It was concluded that worsening of functional dependence on instrumental activities was an important risk indicator for deterioration of OHRQoL in elderly people even in the presence of increase of both lost teeth and insufficient income, showing the importance of considering other factors, in addition to clinical and socioeconomic variables, for a better understanding of OHRQoL.