Oral Health QoL of patients with CVD: An Australian study

Aim or Purpose: To evaluate the Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) among patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Australia Materials and Methods: Purposively, a cross-sectional survey was undertaken in Sydney (July-December 2022) among 320 patients with CVD using the Oral Health Impact Profile short form (OHIP-14). The tool consists of 14 items that describes seven subscales. Mean age was 60.45 years and 68.75% (n=220) were males. Data was descriptively analysed, and answers to the OHIP-14 questions were recorded as a Likert scale. Total OHIP-14 score was calculated by adding up responses on all 14 items. The higher the value of the results, the worse the OHRQoL. Study approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Sydney Local Health District. Results: The mean OHIP-14 score was 8.58 (SD=10.35). Physical pain and psychological discomfort recorded the highest impact on OHRQoL, 43.42% and 36.88%, respectively. Furthermore, with the single OHIP-14 items, the prevalence on OHRQoL varied from 7.1% (for OHIP-14 item –related to their ability to function, in the subscale handicap) to 36% (for OHIP-14 item-related to their ability to eat due to oral health issues, in the subscale physical pain). Conclusions: The oral health status of patients with CVD did not significantly affect their overall OHRQoL. However, the physical pain and psychological discomfort were the most severely affected aspects of their QoL which could be impacting on the nutritional intake of some CVD patients. These findings provide useful information about the act of oral health in this population and help inform preventative care strategies that could be implemented.