Abstract
Aim: To evaluate associations within the family between mothers and fathers quality of life (QoL) and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) during pregnancy.
Methods: This study used data from the FinnBrain Cohort study. The Intermunicipal Hospital District of Southwest Finland has given an ethical clearance for the FinnBrain Cohort study in 14.6.2011. Recruitment took place at maternal welfare clinics in 2011–2015 in the South-Western Hospital District and the Åland Islands in Finland. Of those informed about the study, a total of 66% (3,808/5,790) mothers and 2,624 fathers decided to participate. The data for this study were collected at pregnancy week H34 when 2,609 mothers and 1,507 fathers returned the questionnaires. For this study, only those families in which both mother and father returned the questionnaires were included (n=1,468 mother-father pairs). OHRQoL was measured with the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire and QoL with the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL-8) questionnaire. OHIP-14 response alternatives to perceived oral impacts varied from 0=never to 4=very often, and severity score (sum of responses, scale 0–56, 0 being the best) was calculated. WHOQoL-8 response alternatives varied from 1=very poor to 5=very good. Associations between mothers’ and fathers’ WHOQoL-8 item scores and mean score and OHIP-14 severity score were studied using Spearman correlation coefficients.
Results: Overall, the participants had good OHRQoL, mean severity score being 1.62 among mothers and 2.07 among fathers. Correlation between mothers and fathers OHRQoL was very weak (r=0.087, p=0.001). Moderate correlations between parents were found in QoL total sum (r=0.318) and items “ability to perform daily activities” (r=0.377) and “satisfaction for living place” (r=0.306), and weak correlations in items “quality of life” (r=0.210), and “satisfaction for financial situation” (r=0.266) (p<0.001 for all).
Conclusion: Mothers and fathers show moderate associations on quality of life but weaker correlations on oral health related quality of life.
Supported by Finnish Academy, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation and the Finnish Dental Society Apollonia.
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