Autopercepção da saúde bucal, condição de déficit cognitivo e fatores relacionados entre idosos de Montes Claros – MG

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the self-perceived oral health, the status of cognitive impairment and related factors among non-institutionalized elderly registered in three teams of the Family Health Strategy from the city of Montes Claros – MG. The related factors searched were: sociodemographic characteristics, dental variables, systemic conditions and medication use. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study with a simple random sample (n=218). The data collection, performed by a single researcher, involved conducting structured interviews and clinical dentistry examination. The self-perception was assessed using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index – GOHAI. The status of cognitive impairment was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination – MMSE. The data were analyzed using a descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis using the SPSS® for Windows® version 15.0. The results showed that most of the elderly (36.3%) self-perceived oral health as regular and that those individuals who needed some kind of dental prosthesis and had no spouse were more likely to have a low self-perception of oral conditions. The prevalence of cognitive decline was 6.4%. It was observed a statistically significant association between cognitive impairment and age, marital status and use of prosthesis. An association between some dimensions of the MMSE and edentulism and use of prosthesis was also found. In general, it was observed that both self-perceived oral health and the condition of cognitive impairment were significantly associated with sociodemographic characteristics and dental variables in the study population.