Abstract
Aim: To assess the profile, quality of life and the presence of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) in elderly caregivers. Methods: Thirty-nine caregivers who worked in six long-stay institutions for the elderly in three different municipalities participated in the study. The research instruments were the WHOQOL-BREF, the Fonseca questionnaire and the socio-demographic questionnaire. The Kruskal-Wallis test with the Dunn’s correction was performed at a level of 5%. Results: Females accounted for 94.9% of the sample. The average monthly wage was R$ 832.00. The average working week was 39 hours. The WHOQOL dominions showed the following averages: 74.25 Physical; 70.33 Psychological; 65.79 Social Affairs; 58.38 Environment. Mild DTM was present in 43.6% of the caregivers, of which 7.7% were moderate, 5.2% severe, 23.0% of the professionals were asymptomatic and 20.5% did not answer. The association between TMD and the quality of life showed p=0.6752. Conclusions: It was concluded that there was no relationship between the quality of life and symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction among the caregivers of elderly in this study.
Highlights
IntroductionReceived for publication: August 02, 2015 Accepted: September 22, 2015
Received for publication: August 02, 2015 Accepted: September 22, 2015Currently in Brazil, more than 12% of the population is considered elderly
The present study aimed to investigate the presence of Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction in caregivers of Longstay Institutions for the Elderly (LSIE) and relate it to the quality of life of these professionals
Summary
Received for publication: August 02, 2015 Accepted: September 22, 2015. In Brazil, more than 12% of the population is considered elderly. Data from the 2010 census showed that the Brazilian population consists of about 20 million people aged over 60 years. The percentage of individuals aged over 65 years (7.4%) is higher than the percentage of the group of children 0-4 years of age (7.3%)[1]. With the increasing elderly population, chronic degenerative diseases that compromise the autonomy of the elderly become evident, requiring the presence of an individual caregiver who can be informal (family member or friend) or formal (professional)[2]. Concerning the interpretation of activities related to the welfare of the elderly, the caregiver might have restrictions, affecting their quality of life[5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
