Abstract
BackgroundThe severity of physical and mental impairments and oral problems, as well as socioeconomic factors, may have an impact on quality of life of children with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this research was to assess the impact of impairments and oral health conditions, adjusted by socioeconomic factors, on the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) of children with CP using their parents as proxies.MethodsSixty children, between 6-14 years of age were selected. Their parents answered a children’s OHRQoL instrument (5 domains) which combines the Parental-Caregivers Perception Questionnaire (P-CPQ) and Family Impact Scale (FIS). The severity of dental caries, type of CP, communication ability, gross motor function, seizures and socioeconomic conditions were assessed.ResultsConsidering the total score of the OHRQoL instrument, only the reduction of communication ability and dental caries severity had a negative impact on the OHRQoL (p < 0.05). Considering each domain of the instrument, the severity of the type of CP and its reduction of communication ability showed a negative impact on oral symptoms and functional limitations domains (p < 0.05). Seizures have a negative impact on oral symptoms domain (p = 0.006). The multivariate fitted model showed that the severity of dental caries, communication ability and low family income were negatively associated with the impact on OHRQoL (p = 0.001).ConclusionsThe severity of dental caries, communication ability, and family income are conditions strongly associated with a negative impact on OHRQoL of children with CP.
Highlights
The severity of physical and mental impairments and oral problems, as well as socioeconomic factors, may have an impact on quality of life of children with cerebral palsy (CP)
In view of the scarce studies assessing Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in patients with cerebral palsy, as well as the influence of socioeconomic factors in perception of quality of life; the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of dental caries and health conditions, such as type of CP, communication, motor ability and presence of seizures adjusted by socioeconomic factors on the OHRQoL of children with CP
When the mean total score of the instrument was analyzed, it could be observed that a reduction of communication ability and the severity of dental caries had a negative impact on OHRQoL (p < 0.05)
Summary
The severity of physical and mental impairments and oral problems, as well as socioeconomic factors, may have an impact on quality of life of children with cerebral palsy (CP). To our knowledge, there are no studies focusing on the impact of impairments and oral health conditions on the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) of children with cerebral palsy. Some studies have reported that socioeconomic factors have direct influence on oral health and on the responses about impact of several diseases on the quality of life [6,7,8] The magnitude of this effect in children, remains unclear
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