Department of Dental Hygiene, Hanseo University, 46 Hanseo 1-ro, Haemi-Myun Seosan-Si, Chungcheognam-do 31962, Korea.
Department of Dental Hygiene, Daejeon Health Institute of Technology, 21, Chungjeong-ro, Dong-gu, Daejeon 34504, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 15;17(6):1906. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17061906.
This study examined the relationship between oral discomfort and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the Korean elderly, using the datasets provided by the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KHNANES) over 6 consecutive years (2010-2015). A total of 13,618 participants aged 65 years and over were included in the final analysis. A complex sample logistic regression was performed to determine the impact of oral discomfort on HRQOL. The results revealed that toothache, masticatory discomfort, and pronunciation problems caused by oral health conditions were all risk factors for decreased HRQOL. In particular, masticatory discomfort (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.63, Model III (adjusted for all covariates)) and pronunciation problems (AOR 1.64, Model III) negatively impacted the HRQOL of the elderly to a great extent. Masticatory discomfort had a stronger negative impact on HRQOL in the domains of "self-care" (AOR 1.83) and "usual activities" (AOR 1.66), while pronunciation problems had a similar impact on all five domains of the EuroQol 5-Dimension (EQ-5D). These findings could serve as baseline data for setting up early intervention programs for the timely prevention of oral health-related discomfort problems that greatly affect the QOL of the elderly population, and for the development of comprehensive and efficient dental insurance policies.
本研究利用韩国国民健康营养调查（KHNANES）连续 6 年（2010-2015 年）的数据，调查了韩国老年人口腔不适与健康相关生活质量（HRQOL）之间的关系。共纳入 13618 名 65 岁及以上的参与者进行最终分析。采用复杂样本逻辑回归分析口腔不适对 HRQOL 的影响。结果显示，由口腔健康状况引起的牙痛、咀嚼不适和发音问题均为 HRQOL 降低的危险因素。尤其是咀嚼不适（调整后的优势比（AOR）1.63，模型 III（调整所有协变量））和发音问题（AOR 1.64，模型 III）对老年人的 HRQOL 有很大的负面影响。咀嚼不适对“自我护理”（AOR 1.83）和“日常活动”（AOR 1.66）领域的 HRQOL 有更强的负面影响，而发音问题对 EQ-5D 五个维度均有类似影响。这些发现可以作为制定早期干预计划的基线数据，及时预防严重影响老年人口生活质量的口腔健康相关不适问题，并制定全面、高效的牙科保险政策。
