Abstract
This study aimed to assess the relationship between self-perceived neighborhood factors and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adolescents from southern Brazil. A representative sample of 15-19-year-old students from Santa Maria, Brazil, was included. The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) was used to assess the OHRQoL. Self-perceived neighborhood factors were assessed through a structured questionnaire and included characteristics of the neighborhood where the adolescents lived, such as the presence of paved streets, tap water, community social networks, and availability of dental services and the Family Health Strategy (FHS). In addition, socioeconomic, behavioral, and clinical variables (dental caries and malocclusion) were also evaluated. Multilevel Poisson regression analysis with a hierarchical approach was used to assess the association between predictors and OHIP-14. The rate ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. A total of 1,197 adolescents were included in this study (participation rate: 72.3%). The mean OHIP-14 score was 8.4 (standard error = 0.2), ranging from 0 to 49. Living in residences with unpaved streets (RR = 1.11, 95%CI:1.06-1.17), no tap water (RR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.02-1.20), absence of the FHS services (RR = 1.15, 95%CI: 1.09-1.20), and the availability of dental services (RR = 1.08, 95%CI: 1.03-1.14) were associated with higher OHIP-14 scores, indicating a poorer OHRQoL. In addition, lower socioeconomic status, visiting the dentist for curative reasons, lower frequency of brushing teeth, and higher sugar consumption were also associated with higher OHIP-14 scores. In conclusion, self-perceived neighborhood characteristics were associated with OHRQoL in adolescents. Adolescents who perceived their neighborhood as deprived had poorer OHRQoL.
Highlights
Epidemiological studies on oral pathologies have surpassed the scrutiny of clinical signs
Most studies addressing the association between neighborhood factors and oral health outcomes use contextual data derived from official sources,[9,10,11,12] and little is known about the adolescents’ self-perception of these factors
Considering the need for further evidence on this issue, this study investigated the relationship between self-perceived neighborhood factors and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adolescents from southern Brazil
Summary
Epidemiological studies on oral pathologies have surpassed the scrutiny of clinical signs. The assessment of the impact of oral diseases has been focused on distal factors and subjective measures of oral health,[1,5] such as the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). The literature has shown an inverse association between oral disease prevalence and OHRQoL.[6,7] It is clear that socioeconomic status influences this relationship and low educational levels, low family incomes, and poor access to health services increase the negative impact of oral conditions on the quality of life.[8] Considering that living and working conditions of individuals are related to health outcomes,[2] previous studies have investigated the association between variables at the neighborhood level and OHRQoL in different populations. Most studies addressing the association between neighborhood factors and oral health outcomes use contextual data derived from official sources,[9,10,11,12] and little is known about the adolescents’ self-perception of these factors
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