Objective: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between sociodemographic factors, health-related characteristics, functional status and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among a representative sample of the community-dwelling Lebanese elderly.
Methods: The study sample included 905 randomly selected community-dwelling elderly Lebanese aged 65 or older living in Greater Beirut. The sample was selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. Participants completed a comprehensive multi-component questionnaire, administrated by trained interviewers, including sociodemographic factors, health characteristics, eating behaviours and functional characteristics. OHRQoL was assessed through the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) questionnaire.
Results: Among the participants, 51.6% reported poor OHRQoL. The following variables were significantly associated with poor OHRQoL: lack of health insurance (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.05-2.81); poor or average self-rated general health (OR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.23-5.41 and OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.24-4.16, respectively); monotony of diet (OR = 1.69, 95%CI: 1.02-2.79); absence of dentures (OR = 13.78, 95% CI: 5.02-37.84); insufficient dentures (OR = 18.19, 95%CI: 4.43-74.68); presence of dentures (OR = 2.18, 95%CI: 1.16-4.09); and depression (OR = 2.21, 95%CI: 1.26-3.89).
Conclusion: The present study revealed that a lack of health insurance, negative perception of general health, monotony of diet, denture use and depression were significantly correlated with poor OHRQoL among community-dwelling Lebanese elderly.
Keywords: General Oral Health Assessment Index; elderly; geriatrics; gerontology; oral health-related quality of life.
© 2020 Gerodontology Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.