Determinants of oral‑health‑related quality of life among adult people in Iran

Abstract

 Background :Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) assesses the subjective perception of oral
health and its impact on the quality of life. The aim of this study is to measure the OHRQoL and
its determinants among adult people living in Kerman, Iran.
Materials and Methods: In this cross‑sectional study, a total of 5657 adult people (18–64 years)
residing in the Kerman district, both in the rural and urban areas, were enrolled in the study between
September 2014 and April 2018. The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‑14) and the oral health
indices, such as the total decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT), community periodontal index (CPI),
gingival index (GI), and xerostomia, were measured by an experienced dentist. The demographic
variables of gender, age, educational status, and marital status were also recorded. The impact of
the studied variables on OHRQoL was evaluated with multiple logistic regression.
Results: Participants were 2239 (39.58%) men, and average age was 45.39. The mean scores for
OHRQoL, DMFT, CPI and GI were respectively: 24.07 (7.76), 10.7 (6.86), 0.76 (0.96), 0.63 (0.8).
The frequency of people with xerostomia was 37.4. 301 (53.3%) of people had poor quality of
life related to oral health. In multivariable analysis, there was a statistically significant increase in
OHRQoL with an increase in the DMFT (P < 0.001), xerostomia (P < 0.001), CPI, (P < 0.001). Men
had a significantly higher OHIP score than women (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, DMFT, xerostomia, and CPI scores are strongly
related to OHIP scores. In addition, between CPI and GI scores, the CPI score is the better predictor.
Key Words: Decayed, filled teeth, missing, periodontal index, quality of life, xerostomia