Abstract
Quality of life and its relationship to oral health is an important consideration in the determinants of health of vulnerable groups. The aim of this study is to assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and its related factors in native and immigrant population families from the Platform of Longitudinal Studies on Immigrant Families (PELFI) study in Spain. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 401 adults aged 18 years and older from Spain, Ecuador, Colombia, and Morocco. The OHIP-14 instrument was applied, and three summary variables were used (prevalence, extent, and severity). Sociodemographic and self-perceived health variables were included. Bivariate analyzes were carried out to summarize the variables of the OHIP-14 according to sociodemographic and health variables, and bivariate analyzes of the OHIP-14 dimensions was conducted by country of origin. Multivariate linear models were used to investigate predictors for the dimensions of the OHIP-14. Multivariate logistic models were used to estimate the association of OHRQoL with immigration status using crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (OR-95% CI). It was found that 14.8% of men and 23.8% of women reported negative impacts in terms of OHRQoL (statistically significant differences: p < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences according to the country of origin in the prevalence and severity outcomes of the OHIP-14 in women (p < 0.05), and severe outcomes were observed in Moroccan women. In women, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in OHRQoL were observed according to age and marital status. There were some differences between OHIP-14 summary outcomes according to the health variables. Some sociodemographic and health variables were predictors for the OHIP-14 and their dimensions with differences by sex. Multivariate analysis showed a statistically significant association between OHRQoL and immigration status for Moroccan women. Differences in OHRQoL were found according to sociodemographic and health variables. Further research could clarify the predictors of OHRQoL through epidemiological surveillance and longitudinal studies.
Highlights
Quality of life and its relationship to health is a topic that has generated interest on the scientific agenda for several decades [1]
One of the most commonly used instruments to evaluate Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) from the perception of the individual is the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), which was developed in the 1990s in a 49-question version (OHIP-49) and later in a shorter version with 14 questions, the OHIP-14 [4]
The principal findings of this study show how the general scores from the OHIP-14 instrument which are related to the OHRQoL were low among the surveyed population, which shows that oral health has a low impact on quality of life
Summary
Quality of life and its relationship to health is a topic that has generated interest on the scientific agenda for several decades [1]. The operative definition of quality of life is related to human experiences and the satisfaction people feel with their situations of physical, emotional, and spiritual health and, in their family, friendship and social environments [2]. Oral health is a dimension of quality of life. One of the most commonly used instruments to evaluate OHRQoL from the perception of the individual is the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), which was developed in the 1990s in a 49-question version (OHIP-49) and later in a shorter version with 14 questions, the OHIP-14 [4]. Different studies have shown the relationship between the social, economic, and cultural determinants that can give way to situations of inequality among different social groups in terms of quality of life [5,6]. A systematic review found that the social conditions most clearly associated with a negative perception of OHRQoL were being a woman with low income and a low level of education and belonging to an ethnic minority or immigrant group, among other demographic factors [7]
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