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. 2024 Apr;74(2):268-275.
doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2023.09.003. Epub 2023 Oct 21.

Socioeconomic Status and Tooth Loss Impact on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Chinese Elderly

Yanjun Lyu  1 , Shaoyong Chen  1 , Andi Li  1 , Tingting Zhang  1 , Xiaojuan Zeng  2 , Suren Rao Sooranna  3
Affiliations

Socioeconomic Status and Tooth Loss Impact on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Chinese Elderly

Yanjun Lyu et al. Int Dent J. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: We studied the association between the socioeconomic status (SES), tooth loss, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in an adult cohort in western China. As socioeconomic inequalities in oral health are often neglected in oral health promotion. we aimed to verify the impact of SES on tooth loss and OHRQoL.

Methods: In all, 348 participants aged 60 years and older were selected for this study. Relationships amongst SES, tooth loss, and OHRQoL were identified by using a structural equation model (SEM).

Results: In the final sample, 312 people were included, and the response rate was 89.7%. The bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals of the total, direct, and indirect effects were (-0.267 to 0.475), (-0.489 to 0.185), and (0.088 to 0.450), respectively. The comparative fit index of SEM was 0.943. The model showed that their SES directly affected tooth loss in the elderly population. This indirectly affects their oral health-related quality of life. The numbers of natural teeth and occlusal units (with standardised path coefficients of 0.79 and 0.74, respectively) were found to be the most significant factors relating to tooth loss.

Conclusion: SES affected the oral health-related quality of life in elderly people through tooth loss in a Chinese study population. Our data suggest that improvements in the social and economic environments are a primary measure that should be implmented to prevent tooth loss and improve the OHRQoL.

Keywords: Elderly population; Oral health–related quality of life; Socioeconomic status; Structured equation model; Tooth loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest None disclosed.

Figures

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Fig
The model adaptability indicators associated with this study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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