Older People Living in Nursing Homes: An Oral Health Screening Survey in Florence, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 16(18)2019 09 19.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31546837
ABSTRACT
The oral health state plays an important role in the concept of 'elderly frailty', since institutionalized older people are prone to suffering from bad oral conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the state of oral health in the older residents of nursing homes and to measure its potential association with the cognitive state, the degree of functional autonomy, and the malnutrition risk. Methods:
We enrolled 176 subjects from 292 residents in five nursing homes in Florence. For each subject, we performed the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, the Pfeiffer test, the Minimum Data Set-Long Form, a dental examination, and the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index questionnaire. The results show that the oral condition was poor in 43.8% of cases, medium in 38.1%, and good in 18.2%. A worse oral health state was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with a worse cognitive state and with a higher dependency in daily living activities. The malnutrition score among the older people was unrelated to the oral health condition (p = 0.128). It can be concluded that the oral health condition in older institutionalized subjects is an open challenge for the public healthcare system, since the maintenance of adequate good oral health is an essential element of good physical as well as cognitive and psychological health.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Saúde Bucal
/
Idoso Fragilizado
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Instituição de Longa Permanência para Idosos
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Casas de Saúde
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
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Screening_studies
Limite:
Aged
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Aged80
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Female
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Humans
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Male
País como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article