Factors Affecting Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Among Elderly Croatian Patients.
Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) as a multidimensional concept is affected by many factors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine which demographic and subjective factors are significantly affecting the OHRQoL among the elderly people wearing complete removable dental prostheses (CRDP).


METHODS
This questionnaire-based study included 301 participants, residents of elderly care homes (in Zagreb and Slavonski Brod, Croatia) wearing maxillary and/or mandibular CRDP. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of two sections; the first section included questions giving general information and in the second section the Croatian version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-49 questionnaire with 49 items representing seven OHIP domains was used.


RESULTS
Participants were aged between 60-99 years, with average age of 74 ± 12.1 years. OHIP summary score was 26.5. The highest average OHIP mean values in the domain of functional limitation amounted to 6.7, physical pain 5.1, and physical disability 5.9. The participants' age, education, profession, residence place size, type of CRDP, and the time of denture wearing period all statistically significantly affected OHRQoL (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
General and sociodemographic factors had a significant influence on the participant's subjective perception of oral health and OHRQoL. Younger participants, participants from rural places, those with lower levels of education, and shorter period of denture wearing demonstrated a higher impact on OHRQoL.
Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Josip
J
Kranjčić
Private dental practice.
Anja
A
Mikuš
Department of Removable Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Sanja
S
Peršić
Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia; Department of Prosthodontics at Clinical hospital "Dubrava", Croatia.
Denis
D
Vojvodić
dental prosthesis; elderly; oral health; quality of life
Coll Antropol. 2009 Sep;33(3):841-7
19860113
Gerodontology. 2012 Jun;29(2):e474-80
21696442
J Dent Res. 2008 Aug;87(8):736-9
18650544
Clin Oral Implants Res. 2012 Aug;23(8):958-62
21806685
J Prosthet Dent. 1996 May;75(5):512-4
8709016
Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2012 May 15;10:50
22587387
Int J Prosthodont. 2008 Jan-Feb;21(1):86-8
18350954
Community Dent Health. 1994 Mar;11(1):3-11
8193981
J Prosthet Dent. 1998 May;79(5):545-54
9597608
Coll Antropol. 2009 Dec;33(4):1177-83
20102066
Coll Antropol. 2000 Dec;24(2):485-94
11216416
J Dent. 2012 Oct;40(10):857-65
22819956
J Prosthet Dent. 1996 Oct;76(4):403-13
8897298
J Dent. 1997 Mar;25(2):107-11
9105140
J Dent. 2004 Jan;32(1):3-7
14659712
Int J Prosthodont. 2004 Sep-Oct;17(5):503-11
15543905