Prevalence of Diseases and Conditions Which Impact on Oral Health and Oral Health Self-Care Among Older Chilean

Abstract

Objective: The aim is to describe the prevalence of chronic diseases and conditions that may affect the oral health and oral health self-care of independent living Chilean older adults. Method: In all, 4,766 residents aged 60 years and older took part in the study. Participants were interviewed using an 11-module instrument, including demographic data, quality of life, nutritional status, systemic diseases, and lists of medications. Results: Participants with cognitive impediments (n = 553) were eliminated from further analysis. Of the remaining 4,213, 61.2% were female. The mean age was 71.1 (SD = 7.8) years. A total of 19.6% reported no medical conditions, 53.1% reported one or two conditions, and 27.3% reported between three and nine conditions. The most commonly reported conditions were high blood pressure (78.0%), diabetes (26.5%), depression (23.4%), and cardiovascular disease (18.7%). Seventy-six percent reported taking medication, with an average of 3.4 drugs per person. Among those taking medication, 70.2% were taking at least one that may cause salivary hypofunction. Discussion: With the aging of Chile and the reciprocal links between oral disease and chronic diseases, policies and innovative initiatives need to be implemented so that programs become affordable and accessible for this population.