Impact of oral health problems on the quality of life of women with breast cancer

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the impact of oral health on quality of life and to examine the association with sociodemographic, clinical staging and dental variables in women diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods This is an observational cross-sectional study with sample composed of 89 women treated at a Reference Hospital in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil, between January and December 2012. Two scripts in the form of interviews were used, one to record participants’ information; and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14), to evaluate the impacts produced by the oral condition on quality of life. Descriptive analysis of data was performed. The comparison of the percentage of the impact dimensions with independent variables was tested by the chi-square test or the Fisher exact test, when appropriate. To assess the strength of association between exposure and event, odds ratio was calculated. Significance level of 5% was adopted. Results The impact was 28.1%, there was a statistically significant association with variables income (p = 0.039) and reason for the visit to the oral health professional (p = 0.012). Conclusion Studies on quality of life of cancer patients are of fundamental importance for understanding the impact of oral health problems on quality of life.