Do Economic and Dental Resources Affect Older Persons’ OHRQoL?

Abstract

Objectives: To identify and compare the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of older persons from regions of different economic capacities and dental resources. Methods: Publications reporting on OHRQoL of an elderly population measured with the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) were searched with PubMed using the keywords {(“oral health-related quality of life” OR “ohrqol”) AND “elderly”}. Relevant studies from these reference lists were also included. Studies with a clear indication of subject ages were included where subjects aged 50 or above were regarded as “older persons” (WHO). Data regarding country development stage, Gross National Income (GNI) and density of dental personnel (DDP) were retrieved from three sources: United Nation, World Bank and World Health Organization. Data were analysed by t-test at α=0.05. Results: Seventeen publications (including 1 population survey) from 22 regions satisfying the selection criteria were included. Scores from the “physical pain” domain were the highest among the seven domains. More severe impacts (i.e. impacts occurring “fairly often” or “very often”) were reported in developed countries or economies with higher GNI (≥$40000) regarding items 1 (“trouble pronouncing words”), 4 (“uncomfortable to eat”), 7 (“diet unsatisfactory”), 8 (“interrupt meals”) (p<0.05). After removing confounding factors, severe impacts in item 8 (“interrupt meals”) was associated with GNI, whereas items 5 (“self conscious”) was associated with DDP, and item 12 (“difficulty doing jobs”) was associated with country development stage (p<0.05). Conclusions: Regions with better economic status had fewer severe impacts on diet-related aspects of OHRQoL. However, a higher density of dental personnel does not equate to better overall OHRQoL.