Impact of oral health conditions on the quality of life of hospitalized cardiovascular patients: evidence from Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The oral health directly impacts the quality of life of individuals with different health conditions. To the best of our knowledge, no studies with this objective and design have investigated the impact of this condition on quality of life among patients with cardiovascular diseases of varying types and severities, with or without comorbidities, in Brazil. OBJECTIVE: To identify the main oral conditions that impact the quality of life of individuals with cardiovascular diseases admitted to a highly complex hospital. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with individuals of both sexes hospitalized in a ward and a cardiac intensive care unit, where sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. An oral bedside inspection was carried out, and the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire with 14 questions (OHIP-14) was applied to assess the impact of oral health on quality of life. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare OHIP-14 and oral condition. Univariate and multivariate Poisson regression evaluated the factors suggestive of an impact on health-related quality of life. RESULTS: Eighty patients were examined, and 68.8% were men, 73.75% had tooth loss. Edentulous individuals (p < 0.001), crown fractures (p < 0.001), with the use of dental prostheses (p = 0.016), had worse quality of life concerning oral health. The factors most strongly associated with this negative impact were coronary artery disease (adjusted PR = 0.026) and the use of prosthesis (adjusted PR = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Edentulism, use of prosthesis, and crown fractures were the clinical indicators of oral health that most impacted the quality of life of hospitalized individuals with cardiovascular disease. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.