Trends and fluctuations in the impact of oral conditions among older adults during a one year period.

Abstract

While longitudinal epidemiological studies document the rate of disease progression in populations, it is not known how people's lives are affected by oral conditions over a period of time. This study aimed to describe patterns of change in the reported impact of oral conditions among community-dwelling persons aged 61+ years in South Australia. A self-complete questionnaire, the Oral Health Impact Profile, obtained data about 49 impacts of oral conditions on everyday activities. Questionnaires were issued to 90 people once a month for 12 months and 67 people provided usable responses for at least nine months. The number of reported impacts per month formed the dependent variable for analyzing patterns of change. An increase or decrease of at least two impacts from one month to the next was categorized as a fluctuation. Year-long trends of increase or decrease in at least two impacts were identified using linear regression. Most people (86.5 per cent) experienced no trend, although nearly one half of them reported fluctuations in at least one month. Trends were more likely among denture wearers and people with 16+ missing teeth (P < 0.05), although the associations were confounded by initial impact scores which were higher for both groups. Impacts concerning eating and oral pain were subject to the greatest amount of change. The findings demonstrate that many older adults experience short-term impacts of oral conditions during longer periods of temporal stability in perceived impact of oral health.