Oral health conditions and quality of life of elderly users of the Unified National Health System

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the oral health status and socio-economic conditions of the elderly, which are users of the Brazilian Unified Public Health System (SUS) and its relationship to a subjective indicator of impacts of oral conditions on quality of life (Oral Health Impact Profile OHIP-14). METHODS: It is a descriptive cross-sectional exploratory study developed in the second semester of 2011. The sample consisted of 76 elderly (65-74 years old) users of the public dental service at the Dental Specialties Center at the Faculty of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. The methodological strategy adopted for data collection was the structured interview and secondary data were obtained from medical records and reports. To perform the statistical analysis it was used an exploratory analysis of multivariate data by means of STATA Software. RESULTS: The frequencies of the dimensions of the OHIP-14 with the greatest impact were pain (13.16%) and psychological distress (14.47%). The low impact association was represented by social disability (71%) and social disadvantage (63%). The gender, type of housing, necessity and prosthesis wearing were not associated with measures of quality of life related to oral health. It was observed a good correlation between the perception (r = 0.542, p <0.001), a moderate association between higher income (r = 0.28, p <0.01) and the scores of the OHIP. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the elderly which reported good self-perception of oral health and good income have expressed the perception that oral health reflects a good impact on quality of life.

研究目的：本研究旨在分析巴西统一公共卫生系统（SUS）老年使用者的口腔健康状况与社会经济状况，及其与口腔状况对生活质量影响的主观评估指标——口腔健康影响概况（Oral Health Impact Profile, OHIP-14）之间的关联。

研究方法：本研究为描述性横断面探索性研究，于2011年下半年开展。研究样本共纳入76名65~74岁的老年受试者，均为巴西里贝朗普雷图牙科学院牙科专科中心公共牙科服务的使用者。数据收集采用结构化访谈法，同时从医疗记录与相关报告中获取二手数据。统计分析采用STATA软件开展多变量探索性数据分析。

研究结果：OHIP-14各维度中影响程度最高的为疼痛维度（13.16%）与心理困扰维度（14.47%）；影响程度较低的维度为社会功能障碍（71%）与社会不利状况（63%）。性别、住房类型、就医需求及义齿佩戴情况与口腔健康相关生活质量评分无显著关联。研究观察到口腔健康自我感知与OHIP-14评分间存在较强相关性（r=0.542，p<0.001），较高收入与OHIP-14评分间存在中等程度关联（r=0.28，p<0.01）。

研究结论：本研究得出结论，自我报告口腔健康状况良好且收入较高的老年受试者，均认为口腔健康对其生活质量具有积极影响。