Abstract
BackgroundTraditional methods to measure oral health based on clinical standards are limited because they do not consider psychosocial and functional aspects of oral health. It has been recommended that these measures need to be supplemented by data obtained from patients regarding their individual perceptions on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Happiness is a multidimensional construct comprising both emotional and cognitive domains, and has been defined as “the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his or her life as a whole favorably”. It has been associated with several health outcomes, including oral health. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of oral health conditions, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and socioeconomic factors on the subjective happiness of Brazilian adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 on a representative sample of 12-year-old schoolchildren in Santa Maria-RS, Brazil. The data were collected through dental examinations and structured interviews. The participants underwent an evaluation aimed at detecting dental caries, traumatic dental injuries, malocclusion, and gingival bleeding. They also completed the Brazilian versions of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire-short form (CPQ11–14 – ISF: 16) and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), which was our outcome variable. Socioeconomic conditions were evaluated through a questionnaire that was completed by the participants’ parents. Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the association between the explanatory variables and the outcome. Moreover, a correlation analysis was performed to determine the relationship between the SHS scores and the overall and domain scores of the CPQ11–14 –ISF: 16.ResultsA total of 1,134 children were evaluated. Unadjusted analyses showed that happiness was associated with socioeconomic indicators, the use of dental services, clinical status, and scores on the OHRQoL measure. After adjustment, household overcrowding (RR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93-0.98), dental caries (RR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97-0.99), malocclusion (RR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99), and the severity associated with the CPQ11-14 (RR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.93-0.97) still showed a significant association with lower levels of the mean SHS score.ConclusionsHappiness is influenced by oral conditions, socioeconomic status, and OHRQoL.
Highlights
Traditional methods to measure oral health based on clinical standards are limited because they do not consider psychosocial and functional aspects of oral health
For the calculation of the sample size when analyzing the effect of oral health conditions on happiness, the following parameters were used [20]: the average of 18.3 (SD = 4.7) obtained by the unexposed group on the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), the average of 17.0 (SD = 4.8) and a 95% confidence interval obtained by the exposed group, a ratio of 1:1 between the exposed and unexposed group, a standard error of 5%, and a design effect of 1.2, with 30% added to possible declines
Non-participation was mainly due to the absence of some children on the day scheduled for the examination, or those who forgot to bring the consent form signed by their parents
Summary
Traditional methods to measure oral health based on clinical standards are limited because they do not consider psychosocial and functional aspects of oral health. Happiness is a multidimensional construct comprising both emotional and cognitive domains, and has been defined as “the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his or her life as a whole favorably”. It has been associated with several health outcomes, including oral health. Previous findings suggest that poor oral health among children affects their quality of life in a multidimensional way [4,5,6] This means that it is the domains related to functional limitations that are compromised, and those associated with their social and emotional well-being. Subjective measures of health, such as self-reported health or health-related quality of life, are closely related to happiness [14,15,16]
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