성인의 구강건강문해력과 구강건강관련 삶의 질의 관계 = Impact of oral health literacy on oral health-related quality of life among adults성인의 구강건강문해력과 구강건강관련 삶의 질의 관계

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of oral health literacy on oral healthrelatedquality of life (OHRQoL). Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were handed out to 760 adults above the age of 18 selectedthrough convenience sampling. Among them, those above 60 years of age were also interviewedface-to-face. The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD-99) and the Test of FunctionalHealth Literacy in Dentistry (TOFHLiD) were used to measure verbal and functional oral health literacyrespectively. OHRQoL was measured using the oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14), a simplified versionof the oral health impact profile (OHIP). The sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, maritalstatus, education level, and income) were also recorded. Higher scores on oral health literacy representedhigher levels of literacy, while higher OHIP-14 scores implied that the OHRQoL was lower. Results: During analyses, the sample was stratified into the top and bottom 25% based on functionaloral health literacy levels. OHRQoL had a statistically significant negative correlation with functionaloral health literacy. The items on functional limitation, physical disability, social disability, and handicapspecifically showed negative correlations. Multiple regression analysis was performed after includingsociodemograhic variables also. Only functional and not verbal oral health literacy had a statisticallysignificant influence on OHRQoL. The higher the functional oral health literacy level, the higher was theOHRQoL. Conclusions: Enhancement of functional oral health literacy level through oral health education is necessaryto improve the OHRQoL.