Abstract
ObjectivesIt is well known that oral health status is associated with oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) in the general population. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse OHRQoL among older people in short‐term care and its associated factors.Materials and MethodsThis cross‐sectional study included 391 older people in 36 short‐term care units. Data were collected via clinical oral assessments, questions about self‐perceived oral and general health, Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living (Katz‐ADL) and the Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG). OHRQoL was measured using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‐14). Multivariate logistic regression models were applied in the analysis.ResultsPoor OHRQoL was reported by 34% of the older people. Associated factors were swallowing problems according to ROAG; quite poor/poor self‐perceived physical, psychological and oral health; and being a woman.ConclusionsThere is an association between OHRQoL and older people's self‐perceived health according to the OHIP‐14. This indicates the importance of early detection of oral health problems in frail older people and to assess both oral health and swallowing problems among older people in short‐term care.
Highlights
The results show that oral healthrelated quality of life (OHRQoL) is associated with older people's selfperceived health, which been shown in previous studies.[4,18,22]
Factors associated with poor OHRQoL were being a woman, having oral problems according to Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG) and perceiving quite poor/poor physical, psychological and oral health
We found that the less satisfied the older persons were with their oral health, the higher their likelihood of having poor OHRQoL, which again has been reported in previous studies among older people.[18,36]
Summary
It is well known that oral health status is associated with oral healthrelated quality of life (OHRQoL) in the general population. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse OHRQoL among older people in short-term care and its associated factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 391 older people in 36 short-term care units. OHRQoL was measured using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). Associated factors were swallowing problems according to ROAG; quite poor/poor self-perceived physical, psychological and oral health; and being a woman. Conclusions: There is an association between OHRQoL and older people's self-perceived health according to the OHIP-14. This indicates the importance of early detection of oral health problems in frail older people and to assess both oral health and swallowing problems among older people in short-term care
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