Published in:
01-04-2020 | Original Scientific Article
Oral health-related quality of life in caregivers of individuals with Cerebral Palsy: a case–control study
Published in: European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry | Issue 2/2020
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Aim
The object of this study is to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of caregivers of individuals with Cerebral Palsy (CP).
Methods
Ninety-eight caregivers of individuals with CP (SG) and 196 caregivers of individuals without special needs (CG) completed the reduced version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). In addition, a questionnaire with demographic and socioeconomic questions was used. Groups were matched according to gender, schooling and family income. Fisher’s exact tests, Chi square and Mann–Whitney, and bi/multivariate logistic regression were used (p < 0.05).
Results
The impact on OHRQoL was similar for SG and CG (OHIP-14 total score). For SG, the high negative impact was in the following OHIP domains: “Functional limitation”, “Physical disability”, “Psychological incapacity” and “Disadvantages”. For SG, a higher number of caregivers was single, unemployed, received government financial aid. There was a statistically significant association between the number of children a caregiver has and a negative impact on OHRQoL.
Conclusions
Being a caregiver of children with or without CP had a negative impact of similar magnitude on ORHQoL. The negative impact on OHRQoL of caregivers of children with CP was associated with having a high number of children; the higher the number of children, the greater the negative impact on their OHRQoL.