title: Self-perceived oral health status and influencing factors of the elderly residents of a peri-urban area of La Paz, Bolivia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the self-perceived oral health status of the elderly in Bolivia and explore the relationship between the socio-demographic and subjective factors that influence such perception.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pampahasi, peri-urban area of La Paz, Bolivia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 22.5% (300) sample was selected randomly from the total population (1,336) of 60 years and above. Of the participants, 293 agreed to participate in the survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information was collected by interviews at home.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age was 70 years (SD = 7.7), with more females (57%) than males. Sixty per cent of subjects categorised their oral health as poor. Logistic regression analysis showed that poor self-perceived oral health was associated significantly with not going to school, no/ fair satisfaction with economic status, poor chewing ability, perception of need for dental treatment, and poor self-perceived general health status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Socio-economic factors seem to contribute to poor oral health among the elderly in Bolivia. Considering that these factors are associated with bad oral health behaviour and few visits to dental clinics, there is a need to design dental education programmes and enhance accessibility to dental clinics for elderly people living in the peri-urban areas of La Paz, Bolivia.
authors: Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Ugarte
authors: Yasuyo
authors: Y
authors: Abe
authors: Hideki
authors: H
authors: Fukuda
authors: Sumihisa
authors: S
authors: Honda
authors: Noboru
authors: N
authors: Takamura
authors: Yuko
authors: Y
authors: Kobuke
authors: Zhaojia
authors: Z
authors: Ye
authors: Kiyoshi
authors: K
authors: Aoyagi
authors: Orlando
authors: O
authors: Mendoza
authors: Fumiaki
authors: F
authors: Shinsho
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001838:Bolivia; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population