Effects of the elderly’s oral health status and dental care utilization on their health-related quality of life

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the oral health status, dental care utilization and health-related quality of life of elderly living alone to collect basic data on how to improve quality of life using the components of the European Quality of Life-5 dimension (EQ-5D) scale. The study used raw data of the community health survey from 2016 for South Jeolla Province. The data entailed 2,671 elderly people of aged 65 years and above living alone. Statistical analysis was performed by frequency analysis and chi-squared and t-tests. Analysis of variance was performed using multiple regression analysis. The significance level was determined to be 0.05. Chewing problems and speaking discomfort, oral health examination and unmet dental needs (p<0.001) were all significantly related. In the effect on the components of the EQ-5D by logistic regression analysis, gender, age, education level, economy activity, chewing problems, speaking problem, oral health examination and unmet dental needs were the significant variables in the quality of healthrelated life. The results showed that oral health status and dental care utilization significantly influenced the quality of life in elderly living alone. Through the recognition of the impact of oral health on health-related quality of life, we expect that the data from this study will help promote the development of oral health and oral health education programs for the maintenance and promotion of adult health.