Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Greek Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of oral health status on the quality of life of adults in different regions of Greece, using the Oral Health Impact Profile-short form (OHIP-14). Methods. A random sample consisting of a total of 504 Greek adults between the ages of 35–44 years (mean 39.1 ± 3.5) was selected from different urban and rural areas, and face-to-face interviews were conducted using the validated Greek language OHIP-14. Associations of the total OHIP-14 score and its 7 sub-scales along with the self-perceived quality of life were evaluated with Spearman's correlations. Results. The subjects had an overall weighted OHIP-14 score of 1.1 (sd 1.9). No significant differences were found for either rural or non-metropolitan areas when compared to urban or metropolitan regions. High scores of above 2 were determined for functional limitation, physical pain, handicap, and the psychological discomfort scales. The education level of the subjects had a significant positive impact on the quality of life of the subjects. Conclusions. Dental and oral health conditions are factors that do impact on the quality of life of individuals.

The oral health related quality of life in different groups of senior citizens as measured by the OHIP-14 questionnaire

“…The present findings for Greek seniors revealed a medium impact of oral health with a weighted OHIP-14 score of 2.1, higher than the findings for the adolescents (1.2) [20] and young adults (1.1) [21], confirming the previous reports of a relatively low effect for the Greek population as a whole. This finding is somewhat lower than what a similar study found for Norwegian elders [25], which reported an OHIP-14 score of 3.4, as well as to the levels of impact that were reported for South Australians, i.e., 4.8 [23].…”

“…For the specific age group of elderly adults, it has been shown in a study by Hebling and Pereira [19] that the OHIP-14 instrument can be considered an instrument of choice, along with 6 other instruments that they set apart out of a larger pool of similar questionnaires. Indeed, the instrument was found here to have a very high internal consistency with a Cronbach α of 0.89, which reflects the results reported when used for the other age groups [20,21]. Moreover, this is the first study to examine a representative sample of this elderly section of the Greek population concerning oral health quality of life.…”

“…The increase in impact in comparison to the other age groups can probably be accounted for by the increase of severe periodontal disease and tooth loss, that can be found in the older members of the Greek population [27] and that in turn impacts significantly on an individual's quality of life. Although, as mentioned above, the majority did consider their oral health to be satisfactory, when comparing to the younger adults there was a reduction in the perception of oral health as being good, with in increase in those reporting it as 'bad' reaching 13% (compared to the 4.2% for the younger adults [21]. As has been previously mentioned, the greatest drawback of this study was the absence of a clinical examination to compliment and enhance the findings of the OHIP-14 questionnaire.…”

“…However, information of important clinical indices in very similar populations in different regions of Greece is *Results presented were obtained from Oulis et al [13]. **Result obtained from Papaioannou et al [21].…”

Association between caries status and quality of life of adults in Pinrang, 2019

“…3 QoL measures are of importance in order to look further than just the presence of health or disease and into the way that impacts on his daily performance. 4 The key to improve QoL is by repatriating oral function, mastication, preventing oral disease, repairing oral tissue, and tackling the patient's complaints. 1 Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is defined as a multidimensional construct that reflects (among other things) people's comfort when eating, sleeping, and engaging in social interaction; their self-esteem; and their satisfaction with respect to their oral health.…”