Evaluation of Oral Health Related Quality of Life and Malnutrition in Home Care Patients

Aim: It is known that oral health is an integral part of general health and oral health is closely related to quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between oral health-related quality of life, malnutrition and other oral health problems. Methods: A sociodemographic form consisting of 25 questions was applied. The Oral Health Impact Profile and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life scales were used to assess oral and dental health and the Mini-Nutritional Assessment Test to assess nutritional status. T-test and Chi-Square test were used to determine whether there was a difference between the variables and their significance levels. Results: The mean age of 300 people who participated was 64.90±15.38 years. It was determined that there was no statistically significant relationship between the Mini-Nutritional Assessment Test and Oral Health Impact Profile and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Scale (p=0.763, p=0.429). 80% of the patients receiving home care stated that they needed oral health services. 98.3% of the patients stated that their family physicians did not make any recommendations for oral health. Conclusion: We did not detect any relationship between the Oral Health Impact Profile and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Scale and Mini-Nutritional Assessment in our study. In addition, poor oral health and malnutrition were found to be high in fully and semi-dependent individuals. There is a need for studies with different methods involving larger populations in this regard. Keywords: home care services, oral health, quality of life, malnutrition