Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-wq484 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T10:53:36.818Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Subjective well-being and oral discomfort in older people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2018

Maria Vieira de Lima Saintrain*
Affiliation:
Public Health Graduate Program, University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Thâmara Manoela Marinho Bezerra
Affiliation:
School of Dentistry, University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Flaviano da Silva Santos
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Suzanne Vieira Saintrain
Affiliation:
School of Physical Therapy, Estácio University Center, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Lucianna Leite Pequeno
Affiliation:
Public Health Graduate Program, University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Raimunda Magalhães da Silva
Affiliation:
Public Health Graduate Program, University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Anya Pimentel Gomes Fernandes Vieira-Meyer
Affiliation:
Family Health Master's Program, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Maria Vieira de Lima Saintrain, Public Health Graduate Program, University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Avenida Washington Soares, 1321, Bairro Edson Queiroz, CEP 60811-905 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil. Phone: +5585988039038. Email: mvlsaintrain@yahoo.com.br.

Abstract

Background:

The study aims to assess the relationship between oral discomfort and subjective well-being (SWB) in older people.

Methods:

A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in four Reference Centers for Social Welfare in Fortaleza, Northeastern Brazil. A census was held and individual interviews were carried out with all the older people (n = 246) enrolled in the centers. A questionnaire addressing sociodemographic data (age, gender, marital status, income, and education) and oral discomfort (dry mouth, difficulty in chewing and swallowing food, problems with the taste of food, burning mouth sensation, pain for no apparent reason, and mouth swelling) and the 62-item SWB scale were used.

Results:

Participants were 246 people aged 60–89 years (mean of 69 ± 6.9 years). The majority were women (n = 199; 80.9%), had incomplete primary education (n = 161; 65.4%), had an income of up to one minimum wage (n = 182; 74%), were retired (n = 169; 68.7%), were white (n = 100; 40.7%), and had no partner (n = 177; 72%). The mean SWB score (subscale 1) was associated with age (p = 0.010), gender (p = 0.019), health in the previous year (p = 0.027), systemic diseases (p = 0.007), speech problems (p = 0.016), vision problems (p = 0.006), number of teeth (p = 0.010), and dry mouth (p = 0.044). SWB (subscale 2) was associated with gender (p = 0.029), skin color (p = 0.023), general health (p < 0.001), health in the previous year (p < 0.001), systemic diseases (p = 0.001), drinking (p = 0.022), soft tissue problems (p = 0.001), and pain for no apparent reason (p = 0.025).

Conclusion:

The relationship between oral discomfort and SWB reveals that older people's poor oral health leads to physical, psychological, and/or social problems that directly interfere with their well-being.

Type
Original Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albuquerque, A. S. and Tróccoli, B. T. (2004). Desenvolvimento de uma escala de bem-estar subjetivo psicologia. Teoria e Pesquisa, 20, 153164.Google Scholar
Andrews, F. M. and Withey, S. B. (1974). Developing measures of perceived life quality: results from several national surveys. Social Indicators Research, 1, 126.Google Scholar
CDC National Center for Chronic Disease PreventionHealth Promotion (2013). The State of Aging and Health in America. Division of Population Health. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/features/agingandhealth/state_of_aging_and_health_in_america_2013.pdf; last accessed 19 March 2015.Google Scholar
Crispim, A. J., Saupe, R. and Boing, A. F. (2009). Perfil epidemiológico do uso e necessidade de prótese e de alterações de tecidos moles bucais em idosos de uma comunidade de Itajaí-SC. Arquivos Catarinenses de Medicina, 38, 5257.Google Scholar
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542575.Google Scholar
Diener, E. and Chan, M. Y. (2011). Happy people live longer: subjective well-being contributes to health and longevity. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 3, 143.Google Scholar
German, L., Feldblum, I., Bilenko, N., Castel, H., Harman-Boehm, I. and Shahar, D. R. (2008). Depressive symptoms and risk for malnutrition among hospitalized elderly people. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 12, 313318.Google Scholar
Giacomoni, C. H. (2004). Bem-estar subjetivo: em busca da qualidade de vida. Temas em Psicologia da SBP, 12, 4350.Google Scholar
Griffin, S. O., Jones, J. A., Brunson, D., Griffin, P. M. and Bailey, W. D. (2012). Burden of oral disease among older adults and implications for public health priorities. American Journal of Public Health, 102, 411418.Google Scholar
Hara, S., Miura, H., Yamasaki, K., Morisaki, N. and Osaka, K. (2015). Relationship among subjective satisfaction with verbal communication, dental status, and health-related quality of life in Japanese community-residing elderly individuals. Advances in Applied Sociology, 5, 3239.Google Scholar
Harada, E. et al. (2012). Relationship between subjective assessment of oral health and medical expenses in community-dwelling elderly persons. Gerodontology, 29, e246–e252.Google Scholar
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) (2010). Censo Demográfico 2010. Ministério do Planejamento, Orçamento e Gestão. Available at: http://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/periodicos/94/cd_2010_religiao_deficiencia.pdf; last accessed 6 October 2011.Google Scholar
Lemos, M. M. C., Zanin, L., Jorge, M. L. R. and Flório, F. M. (2013). Oral health conditions and self-perception among edentulous individuals with different prosthetic status. Brazilian Journal of Oral Sciences, 12, 510.Google Scholar
Locker, D., Matear, D., Stephens, M. and Jokovic, A. (2002). Oral health-related quality of life of a population of medically compromised elderly people. Community Dental Health, 19, 9097.Google Scholar
Malkin, B. (2009). The importance of patients' oral health and nurses' role in assessing and maintaining it. Nursing Times, 105, 1923.Google Scholar
MDS. Ministério do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome (MDS) (2009). Secretaria Municipal de Educação e Assistência Social – SEDAS, 2009. Available at: http://www.mds.gov.br/assistenciasocial/protecaobasica/cras; last accessed 12 July 2014.Google Scholar
Mello, A. L. S. F., Moysés, S. J. and Castro, R. G. (2009). Cuidado dirigido à saúde bucal: significados atribuídos por cuidadores de idosos. Ciência, Cuidado e Saúde, 8, 2733.Google Scholar
Muramatsu, M. et al. (2007). Relationship between oral health and subjective well-being in community-dwelling elderly persons. Hokkaido Japanese Dental Science, 28, 120127.Google Scholar
Okun, M. A., Stock, W. A., Haring, M. J. and Witter, R. A. (1984). Health and subjective well-being: a meta-analysis. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 19, 111132.Google Scholar
OMS (2009). Les Femmes et la Santé: La Réalité d’Aujourd’Hui le Programme de Demain. Organisation mondiale de la Santé. Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789242563856_fre.pdf; last accessed 10 February 2015.Google Scholar
Saintrain, M. V. L. and Souza, E. H. A. (2012). Impact of tooth loss on the quality of life. Gerodontology, 29, e632e636.Google Scholar
Saintrain, M. V. L. and Vieira, A. P. G. F. (2012). Application of the community oral health indicator by non-dental personnel and its contribution to oral healthcare. PLoS One, 7, e39733.Google Scholar
Saintrain, M. V. L. and Vieira, L. J. E. S. (2008). Saúde bucal do idoso: abordagem interdisciplinar. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 13,11271132.Google Scholar
Saintrain, M. V. L., Guimarães, A. V. P., Honório, V. A., Almeida, P. C. and Vieira, A. P. G. F. (2013). Depression symptoms and oral discomfort in elderly adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 61, 651652.Google Scholar
Scorsolini-Comin, F. and Santos, M. A. (2010). Avaliação do Bem-Estar Subjetivo (BES): aspectos conceituais e metodológicos. Revista Interamericana de Psicologia, 44, 442448.Google Scholar
United Nations (2005). Living Arrangements of Older Persons Around the World. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/livingarrangement/covernote.pdf; last accessed 26 May 2014.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO) (2011). Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases 2010. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: http://www.who.int/nmh/publications/ncd_report2010/en/; last accessed 20 December 2014.Google Scholar