Abstract
Objective:This paper aimed to assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using the parental/caregiver perceptions questionnaire (PCPQ). Materials and methods: Children aged 2 to 14 years, enrolled in the ACOLHER/PNE project at the Fluminense Federal University, RJ, Brazil, were assessed. The main independent variable was dental caries experience, diagnosed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The variable was categorized as caries-free when dmft/DMFT=0 and caries experience when dmft/DMFT ? 1. Caregiver schooling, age, sex, and socioeconomic factors (Brazilian minimum wage – BMW) were the other independent variables. Quality of life (QoL) was measured using PCPQ subscales and total score. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and multivariate Poisson regression correlation analysis were performed. Results: The median age of patients was 8 (SD= 3.76). The study group consisted of 57 (76.0%) males and 18 (24.0%) females. Fifty parents (66.7%) have more than eight years of education and 35 (46.7%) earn less than 2 BWM. The impact values were significantly higher in male individuals in the oral symptoms (OS) domain and in individuals without caries experience in the social well-being (SW) domain (p<0.05). Conclusions: these results seem to suggest that individuals with ADS without caries experience in permanent dentitions in the SW domain and males in the OS domain had a higher impact quality of life.
Highlights
A utism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disorder characterized by impairments in social and communicative functioning and by the presence of restricted interests/repetitive behaviors [1,2]
Pani et al [4] suggest that childhood autism results in reduced oral healthrelated quality of life (OHRQoL) for the affected child and significantly poorer Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (PCPQ) scores than those of parents without an autistic child
Written informed consent was obtained from the parents or legal guardians of all participants and the study procedures were clearly explained to the parents/guardians and participants before their inclusion
Summary
A utism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disorder characterized by impairments in social and communicative functioning and by the presence of restricted interests/repetitive behaviors [1,2]. The health status of ASD individuals in Brazil is poorly investigated. ASD is a widely recognized disease that can have varying impacts on people and on their well-being and quality of life [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Investigations have shown that health problems such as dental caries can affect individuals functionally, psychologically, and socially, causing pain and discomfort in children and adolescents with special healthcare needs [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. In individuals with ASD, oral healthrelated quality of life (OHRQoL) could have a different impact on families when compared to healthy children [4,5]. Pani et al [4] suggest that childhood autism results in reduced OHRQoL for the affected child and significantly poorer Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (PCPQ) scores than those of parents without an autistic child
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