Association between resilience and quality of life related to oral health in the elderly

Objective: To evaluate the association between psychological resilience and oral health related to quality of life through a hierarchical approach based on a conceptual theoretical model in a cohort of elderly residents in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort study in 2008. We evaluated 498 elderly residents in Carlos Barbosa, Rio Grande do Sul. The measures included sociodemographic questionnaire, health behavior, quality of life related to oral health (OHRQOL), measured by the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14), Resilience Scale, and DMFT. The association between resilience and potential impacts on perceptions of oral health-related quality of life was assessed through negative binomial regression. Mean ratios (MR) are presented with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: Higher means of OHIP were found in women 6.7 ± 6.3; p = 0.011), in rural dwellers (7.3 ± 6.7; p = 0.004) and singles (8.0 ± 6.3; p = 0.032). The final model of multivariate analysis showed that being a rural dweller (MR = 1.32; 95%CI 1.06 – 1.65) and being married (MR = 1.36; 95%CI 1.07 – 1.72) were independently associated with OHRQOL. There was no association between resilience and OHRQOL. Conclusion: The results suggest that factors such as sociodemographic variables are associated with OHRQOL. The hypothesis that resilience might play a role in the outcome has not been confirmed.