Abstract
Background: The presence of a chronic illness in childhood, such as HIV infection and cancer, can affect the quality of life and oral health-related quality of life negatively. This work aims to evaluate the quality of life and the oral health-related quality of life of HIV-infected children and children with cancer and compare the results with children without systemic chronic disease. Methods: The Autoquestionnaire Qualite de Vie Enfant Image (AUQEI) and the short version of Child Perception Questionnaire (short-CPQ 11-14) were applied to 82 HIV-infected children, 31 children with cancer and 112 children without systemic disease aged between 11 and 14 years old. All children were examined oral for the presence of any oral health problems. The Kruskal- Wallis test was used to compare the mean scores obtained by the groups. Results: HIV-infected children (AUQEI=49.93; short-CPQ 11-14 =6.29) and children with cancer (AUQEI=50.45;short-CPQ 11-14 =6.81) showed a lower quality of life (p=0.011) and oral-health-related quality of life (p=0.043) when compared to children without systemic disease (AUQEI=52.18; short-CPQ11-14 =3.82). Conclusion: The quality of life and the oral health-related quality of life of children are negatively affected by the HIV-infection and cancer and oral health problems.
Highlights
From the moment a chronic illness is diagnosed in childhood there is a profound psychological impact on the quality of life of the patients and their relatives, on family and social relationships, and on role functioning [1]
Sample profile The average age of the children was 12.31 (SD=1.06), there were statistical differences when comparing the average age of the three groups (Table 1; Kruskal-Wallis-test, p=0.010)
On assessing the frequency of children with an Autoquestionnaire Qualité de Vie Enfant Imagé (AUQEI) score greater than 52, which indicated a good quality of life, we found that the HIV-infected group (31; 37.8%) and the cancer group (7; 22.6%) had fewer children than the no-disease group (69; 52.7%)
Summary
From the moment a chronic illness is diagnosed in childhood there is a profound psychological impact on the quality of life of the patients and their relatives, on family and social relationships, and on role functioning [1]. The increased survival of patients with chronic diseases has brought a more qualitative approach to care, seeking a multidisciplinary approach, with greater emphasis on their quality of life [5,6]. These strategies allow health professionals to try to prevent or lessen the psychosocial consequences that these patients have to face. Dentistry has a fundamental role, since both HIV infection and cancer can lead to occurrence of oral health problems such as caries disease, gingival disease and other oral lesions [7] Such problems can be a direct consequence of the disease, or indirect through changes in salivary function, frequent intake of medication, high calorie diet and inadequate oral hygiene habits. This work aims to evaluate the quality of life and the oral health-related quality of life of HIV-infected children and children with cancer and compare the results with children without systemic chronic disease
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
