Parental reports of the oral health-related quality of life of children with cerebral palsy

• Published in: BMC oral health Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 15
• Main Authors: Abanto, Jenny, Carvalho, Thiago S, Bönecker, Marcelo, Ortega, Adriana Ol, Ciamponi, Ana L, Raggio, Daniela P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 18-06-2012; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adolescent; Analysis; Cerebral palsied children; Cerebral palsy; Cerebral Palsy - psychology; Child; Children; Children & youth; Communication; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental care; Dental caries; Dental Caries - classification; Dentistry; DMF Index; Educational Status; Emotions; Family Characteristics; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Income; Male; Mental Health; Motor Skills; Oral Health; Oral health related quality of life; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Parents - education; Poverty; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Seizures (Medicine); Seizures - psychology; Socioeconomic Factors; Brazil
• ISSN: 1472-6831; 1472-6831
• DOI: 10.1186/1472-6831-12-15

The severity of physical and mental impairments and oral problems, as well as socioeconomic factors, may have an impact on quality of life of children with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this research was to assess the impact of impairments and oral health conditions, adjusted by socioeconomic factors, on the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) of children with CP using their parents as proxies.
Sixty children, between 6-14 years of age were selected. Their parents answered a children's OHRQoL instrument (5 domains) which combines the Parental-Caregivers Perception Questionnaire (P-CPQ) and Family Impact Scale (FIS). The severity of dental caries, type of CP, communication ability, gross motor function, seizures and socioeconomic conditions were assessed.
Considering the total score of the OHRQoL instrument, only the reduction of communication ability and dental caries severity had a negative impact on the OHRQoL (p < 0.05). Considering each domain of the instrument, the severity of the type of CP and its reduction of communication ability showed a negative impact on oral symptoms and functional limitations domains (p < 0.05). Seizures have a negative impact on oral symptoms domain (p = 0.006). The multivariate fitted model showed that the severity of dental caries, communication ability and low family income were negatively associated with the impact on OHRQoL (p = 0.001).
The severity of dental caries, communication ability, and family income are conditions strongly associated with a negative impact on OHRQoL of children with CP.