Factors Related to Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Independent Brazilian Elderly

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the factors associated with the impact of oral health on the quality of life in a sample of 504 Brazilian independent elderly. Data collection included oral examinations and structured interviews. The simplified form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) was used to measure OHRQoL. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, use of dental services, and subjective measures of health was collected. Poisson regression within a hierarchical model was used to data analyses. The following variables were associated with a negative impact on OHRQoL: female gender (PR = 1.40; CI 95%: 1.11–1.77); lower class (PR = 1.58; CI 95%: 1.13–2.20); up to 3 occluding pairs of posterior teeth (PR = 1.88; CI 95%: 1.13–3.14); at least one untreated caries (PR = 1.28; CI 95%: 1.06–1.54); curative reasons for the last dental appointment (PR = 1.52; CI 95%: 1.15–2.00); poor self-perception of oral health (PR = 2.49; CI 95%: 1.92–3.24); and poor perception of dental care provided (PR = 1.34; CI 95%: 1.12–1.59). The younger elderly also noticed this negative impact. These findings showed that the clinical, sociodemographic, and subjective factors evaluated exerted a negative impact on OHRQoL in elderly people. Health authorities must address all these factors when planning interventions on oral health for this population.

Calidad de Vida Relacionada con Salud Oral: Impacto de Diversas Situaciones Clínicas Odontológicas y Factores Socio-Demográficos. Revisión de la Literatura

“…Varios estudios coincidieron que las mujeres tienden a tener una mayor percepción negativa de su salud oral que los hombres (Caglayan et al;de la Fuente-Hernández et al;Rusanen et al, 2010;Ulinski et al) y también a medida que aumenta la edad lo hace la percepción negativa (Bianco et al;CohenCarneiro et al, 2010;Jain et al).…”

“…Mientras que en otro estudio realizado en adultos mayores brasileros se asociaron con un impacto negativo de salud oral el sexo femenino, el nivel socioeconómico bajo, tener tres pares dentarios en oclusión en sector posterior, una o más lesiones de caries sin tratar, haber acudido a la última cita del odontólogo para tratamientos restauradores y no preventivos, una escasa percepción acerca de la importancia de los cuidados dentales y una autovaloración de salud oral mala; siendo este último el más elevado, aumentando en tres veces la probabilidad de riesgo (Ulinski et al, 2013). Por otra parte, en otro estudio concluyeron que las variables sociodemográficas y condiciones orales explican un pequeño porcentaje de la variación de la calidad de vida, siendo los más afectados las dimensiones físicas y psicológicas, disminuyendo la calidad de vida conforme aumenta la edad (Bianco et al, 2010).…”

Impact of Oral Health in the Elderly Patients Quality of Life

“…4,5,12,13 A person to be considered elderly must be 65 years or older, for developed countries, and emerging countries 60 years or more.…”

“…The elderly people need to be included in the family with care and love, must live in a society in which their constitutional right is guaranteed to have a decent home, enjoy a public health quality and above all be well psychologically within the society in which lives. 4,5,12,13 One of the factors that interfere negatively with QoL of older people is, both in the social sphere and in health, is the loss of dental elements whose main factors periodontal disease and caries related to lack of access to oral health. An elderly edentulous is an individual who gets sick psychologically, the loss of self-esteem and can also sicken by the deficiency of chewing and swallowing, contributing to the worsening of diseases of lack of adequate protein to your body.…”

“…Due to the high population growth and survival of the elderly population, become necessary investments in conservative treatment and rehabilitation for preservation or maintenance of oral health of the elderly. 3,8,11,13 Thus, it is suggested that subjective issues and psychological aspects are considered as essential as the normative requirements. The use of the OHIP-14 can be useful for planning programs and actions for the health of the elderly, prioritizing those with higher psychosocial impacts produced by dental problems.…”