Correlation between oral health and quality of life among the elderly in Southwest China from 2013 to 2015

The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health among the elderly in Southwest China and to analyze the correlation between common oral diseases and quality of life (QOL) in the same population, thus providing recommendations to improve their oral health and life quality. Elderly people (>60 years’ old) were randomly recruited into our study, and we performed oral health examinations and diagnoses, using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI) to assess the periodontal condition, and Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) to score life quality associated with oral health. Then we analyzed correlations between oral health and QOL as well as body mass index (BMI). A total of 687 subjects participated in our study and 212 (30.9%) were diagnosed with gingivitis or subgingival calculus, 291 (42.4%) with moderate chronic periodontitis, 136 (19.8%) with severe chronic periodontitis, 514 (74.8%) with dental caries, and 648 (94.3%) with dentition defects. A total of 653 (95.1%) qualified OHIP-14 scores were collected, with a median score of 13. The scores of the severe and moderate periodontitis were similar to the dentition defects, but higher than the scores for gingivitis and subgingival calculus. Considering the most common side effect, 11% of the subjects with severe chronic periodontitis were reported to be “unsatisfied with eating,” and 48.4% of the participants with dentition defects complained about “troubles with pronunciation.” A logistic regression analysis revealed that underweight (BMI <20) correlated with dental caries (odds ratio [OR]: 0.167, P = .040) and dentition defects (OR: 0.119, P = .016). The general oral health condition was poor among the elderly in Southwest China. Periodontitis and dentition defects have considerable negative effects on the QOL among this population.