Frailty and oral health-related quality of life in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Poor oral health has been associated with frailty among older adults. However, limited evidence has been available on whether frailty can affect oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in older adults. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between frailty and OHRQoL among community-dwelling older adults. A household-based cross-sectional study involving community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older was conducted in the city of Bauru, Brazil. Data on frailty status, sociodemographic characteristics, self-perceived dental care needs, and OHRQoL (OHIP-14) were collected through individual interviews. The use of and the need for total dental prostheses were assessed through clinical examinations. Logistic regression was used to determine whether frailty status and covariates were associated with OHRQoL prevalence measures (OHIP-14 total score ≥ 1 and OHIP-14 fairly/very often ≥ 1). The sample comprised 334 participants, among whom 58.7% and 41.3% were between 65–74 and 75–102 years old, respectively. The prevalence of moderate to severe frailty was 12.3%. Moderate to severe frailty (OR = 4.49; 95%CI 1.29–15.66), the need for lower dental prosthesis (OR = 2.20; 95%CI 1.27–3.81), and self-perceived dental care need (OR = 3.90; 95%CI 2.14–7.14) were associated with OHIP-14 total score ≥1. Moderate to severe frailty (OR = 2.95; 95%CI 1.33–6.55), being female (OR = 2.24; 95%CI 1.34–3.75), and self-perceived dental care need (OR = 4.80; 95%CI 2.86–8.03) were associated with OHIP-14 fairly/very often ≥1. Overall, our results showed that moderate to severe frailty was significantly associated with poor OHRQoL in community-dwelling older adults.

摘要：老年人口腔健康状况不佳与衰弱症存在关联。然而，目前关于衰弱症是否会影响老年人口腔健康相关生活质量（Oral Health-Related Quality of Life，简称OHRQoL）的研究证据较为有限。本研究旨在探讨社区居住老年人群体中衰弱症与OHRQoL之间的关联。本研究在巴西鲍鲁市开展了一项基于家庭的横断面研究，研究对象为65岁及以上的社区居住老年人。研究通过个人访谈收集了衰弱状态、社会人口学特征、自我感知的口腔护理需求以及OHRQoL（采用OHIP-14量表）相关数据；通过临床检查评估了全口义齿的使用情况与需求。采用Logistic回归分析，明确衰弱状态及协变量是否与OHRQoL的两类患病率指标相关：一是OHIP-14总分≥1分，二是OHIP-14量表中“相当频繁/非常频繁”维度的条目≥1分。本研究共纳入334名参与者，其中58.7%的人群年龄介于65~74岁，41.3%的人群年龄为75~102岁。中度至重度衰弱症的患病率为12.3%。分析结果显示，中度至重度衰弱（OR=4.49; 95%CI 1.29–15.66）、下颌全口义齿需求（OR=2.20; 95%CI 1.27–3.81）以及自我感知的口腔护理需求（OR=3.90; 95%CI 2.14–7.14）与OHIP-14总分≥1分显著相关。此外，中度至重度衰弱（OR=2.95; 95%CI 1.33–6.55）、女性性别（OR=2.24; 95%CI 1.34–3.75）以及自我感知的口腔护理需求（OR=4.80; 95%CI 2.86–8.03）与OHIP-14量表中“相当频繁/非常频繁”维度的条目≥1分显著相关。综合来看，本研究结果表明，社区居住老年人的中度至重度衰弱症与较差的OHRQoL存在显著关联。