Oral health of elderly people in Yazd city and its relationship with quality of life

Regarding the high prevalence of caries and oral dental diseases, especially in the elderly, and the increasing attention of people to using the concept of quality of life, this study was conducted to determine the relation between oral and dental health and the quality of life in elderly people in Yazd.

This cross-sectional study was performed using data from the Yazd Public Health Survey (YAHS) with a sample of 9293 people, in 1393-94. All information was collected from 1907 elderly people aged between 60 to 70 years, including quality of life and oral and dental indexes from the comprehensive questionnaire of YAHS. Data were analyzed by independent t-test and Spearman correlation coefficient using SPSS16 software.

There was a significant relationship between the quality of life and oral hygiene (P<0.01). Also, the score of quality of life and oral health was significantly related to education (P<0.01).

This study showed the positive relation between the oral health the quality of life. In addition, there was a quality of life level in the elderly people with poor oral hygiene.