The impact of socioenvironmental characteristics on domains of oral health-related quality of life in Brazilian schoolchildren

Abstract

BackgroundRecent researches have pointed out the need to consider the functional and psychosocial dimensions of oral health, such as Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of oral health status, socioeconomic factors and home environment of children on the four health domains of Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14).MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Brazil with a sample of 286 schoolchildren aged 12 years and their parents. The schoolchildren were clinically examined, and participants were asked to complete the CPQ11-14, as well as a questionnaire about home environment. In addition, a questionnaire was sent to each child’s parents asking them about family socioeconomic status. The chi-square test and Poisson’s regression analysis were performed.ResultsAfter adjusting for potential confounders, variables sex, monthly family income, mothers’ education showed a statistically significant association with all health domains of the CPQ11-14. The family structure and presence of bleeding impacted on emotional (p = 0.0135), and social (p = 0.0010) well-being health domain scores. Orthodontic treatment need showed a strong negative effect on functional limitations domain score (p = 0.0021).ConclusionsClinical and socio-environmental factors had different impacts on domains of oral health-related quality of life, demonstrating the need to consider these conditions in planning strategies for the oral health of schoolchildren.

Longitudinal impact of clinical and socioenvironmental variables on oral health-related quality of life in adolescents

“…A previous study developed by the authors presented both the sample size calculation and the inclusion and exclusion criteria used at baseline in greater detail. 13 Briefly, we included all 12-year-old schoolchildren whose parents had consented their participation in the study and we excluded those with previous or current history of orthodontic treatment. After 3 years, the adolescents were contacted again to participate in the research.…”

“…The CPQ [11][12][13][14] questionnaire was translated into Portuguese and validated for the Brazilian population by Barbosa et al, 24 and demonstrated to have good psychometric properties. It consists of 37 questions divided into four domains: oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional well-being, and social well-being.…”

“…OHRQoL was the dependent variable and it was estimated by the Child Perceptions Questionnaire -CPQ [11][12][13][14] . 22 Locker 23 introduced different methods for assessing self-perceived oral health, such as OHRQoL, claiming that the differences between baseline and follow-up scores can be used as the dependent variable in analyses aimed at identifying predictors of change, such as socioenvironmental aspects and personal characteristics of participants at baseline.…”

“…15,16,17 Moreover, evidence has shown that family environmental aspects are related to OHRQoL. 10,11,12,13 In a recent systematic review on the theme, Kumar et al 12 found that reaching a consensus over the results of studies into the impact of parental socioeconomic status and family environmental characteristics on children's OHRQoL is not an easy task. This is due to differences in study population, parental characteristics, variables collected, methods and statistical tests used.…”

“…6 In addition, social determinants of health such as socioeconomic status and family environmental characteristics have been linked to oral health in children and adolescents. 7,8 Therefore, other studies 9,10,11,12,13,14 have…”