Factors associated with poor oral health‐related quality of life among non‐institutionalized Brazilian older adults

Abstract

Aims:To investigate the factors associated with poor oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a sample of Brazilian older adults. Methods and Results: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 535 noninstitutionalized elders aged 60 years or older from Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. OHRQoL was measured using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Data on sociodemographic characteristics, self-perceived general health status, and health-related behaviors were obtained through a structured questionnaire. Data on chronic diseases were obtained from health records. Associations between exploratory factors and low OHRQoL (% GOHAI score <30) were evaluated using multivariate Poisson regression models to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) and confidence intervals. The mean OHRQoL score was 30 (± 4.4). In bivariate analysis, being not married, smoking, and selfrated "fair/poor" general health status were associated with lower OHRQoL. In the adjusted model, self-rated "fair/poor" general health (PR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.05-1.48), presence of chronic diseases (PR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.37-2.58), smoking (PR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.02-1.53), and reason for last dental appointment (PR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.13-1.59) were associated with poor OHRQoL. Conclusion: Non-institutionalized older adults with a history of chronic diseases, who smoke, have a negative perception of their general health, and had the last dental appointment motivated by pain present significantly higher prevalence rates of poor OHRQoL. K E Y W O R D Sdental health surveys, geriatric dentistry, oral health, quality of life INTRODUCTIONIt is estimated that the number of people aged 60 years or older at a global level will exceed 2 billion by the year © 2021 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals LLC 2050, representing one fifth of the world population. By then, approximately 80% of the older population will live in developing countries. 1 In Brazil, a rapid demographic transition characterized by increasing life expectancy and

Increased Oral Dryness and Negative Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Older People with Overweight or Obesity

“…Future sleep medication data related to sleep quality and duration might better indicate an association between sleeping and QoL. Additionally, a negative influence of smoking on OHRQoL has been documented [ 6 , 14 ], which is inconsistent with our findings. This may have been a reflection of the small number of participants who smoked in the present study.…”

“…Dry mouth has not often been studied in relation to OHRQoL and is usually investigated in the general older population, not taking BMI into account [ 3 ]. Older adults in Brazil with a history of chronic disease and negative perceptions of their general health exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of poor OHRQoL [ 6 , 13 ]. In the present study, we recruited 123 Thai people aged over 60 years.…”

“…Studies indicate that lower OHRQoL in older adults is associated with increased age, sex, socioeconomic disadvantage, anxiety or depression, negative self-rated general health, poor oral health, lack of dentures, dry mouth, poor chewing and swallowing function, and irregular dental visits [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Poor nutritional status has also a deleterious effect on OHRQoL [ 5 ].…”

Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Among Non-institutionalized Elderly in Malaysia: A Teaching Hospital-Based Survey

“…According to the results, elderly individuals who attended Klinik Pergigian Manipal University College (who are not residing in any institutionalized settings like a nursing home or assisted living centers) demonstrated a poor perception of their oral health status, as evidenced by their low GOHAI scores, which had a mean of 48.38. This indicates that their oral health had a negative impact on their quality of life, a finding that is consistent with study results done by Tenani et al (2021) [ 14 ]. In 2020, a national survey conducted by Mohamad Fuad et al [ 12 ] revealed that the overall GOHAI score in Malaysia was considered fair and was higher than that of other Asian countries.…”