Parents' Perceptions of the Oral Health-related Quality of Life of their Autistic Children in Iran

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate parents' perception of the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of autistic children in Iran, and to determine the quality of life of their families in relation to child' oral health status. Study design: 70 families with at least one child with autism, and 70 families with normal children were enrolled. Parents' perceptions of the OHRQoL of children were assessed using pre-validated PedsQL oral health scale questionnaire. PedsQL Family Impact Module questionnaire was also used to evaluate the impact of having an autistic child on the quality of life of their families. Both of the questionnaires were filled by parents. Parents of children with autism spectrum filled a separate questionnaire for the sibling of the autistic child. In the control families, child-reported PedsQL oral health scale questionnaire was also filled by the child himself/herself. Mann-Whitney U-test, and chi-square were used for statistical analysis. Results: There was a significant difference in the mean total score of PedsQL oral health scale questionnaire between autistics and controls. Parents of normal children reported more oral problems (p<0.001). There was not a significant difference in the mean total score of PedsQL Family Impact Module questionnaire between the families of autistics and controls in the last 7 and 30 days. Conclusion: According to parents' point of view, oral health-related quality of life of autistic children was better than normal children. However, parents of autistic children had more problems in the social and communication issues.

Parental perceptions of oral health-related quality of life of Brazilian children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

“…These results are in agreement with Pani et al [4] and Richa et al [5]. has been reported in the literature [4,5,7,8,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. The impact observed in the present study was high, but higher impact was on caries-free children in the SWB domain.…”

“…It was interesting to note that, although the overall scores showed no significant diferences, the effects of autism on parental social well-being have been a cause for concern [4,5]. This maybe a reflection of the fact that older children, perceive caries as a problem that affects their social well-being [4,5,23].…”

Parental perspectives on oral health‐related quality of life in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review

“…In the studies with a control group, an equal distribution of the sexes was observed unless sex-matched. Pani et al 17 and Eslami et al 24 found no significant correlation between the…”

Oral health of children with autism spectrum disorder

“…El trastorno del espectro autista es una condición única que debe ser tratada de forma individualizada y especializada con el objetivo de mejorar la calidad de vida de los Por lo tanto, es importante entender la influencia que una red de apoyo, ya sea en la familia, la escuela y áreas relacionadas, puede tener en la vida de los niños con dicha condición (Eslami et al 2018).…”