Impacto de erosão e cárie dentária na qualidade de vida de adolescentes com risco comportamental para transtornos alimentares

Abstract

Introduction: The oral health damages of individuals at risk or those with eating disorders (EDs) have been investigated, bringing with them discordant results regarding the impairment of teeth. However, it has not yet been observed that the presence of oral complaints in individuals with risk behavior may influence their quality of life. Objective: A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the impact of erosion and dental caries on the quality of life of adolescents of the female sex, aged 15 to 18 years, at risk of suffering from eating disorders, comparing them to healthy adolescents. Methods: The probabilistic sample consisted of 616 adolescents from public and private schools in Campina Grande, PB. Sociodemographic data were investigated through a questionnaire. The presence of risk behavior for eating disorders was evaluated through the Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh (BITE). The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory^TM (PedsQL^TM) Generic Scale and Oral Health Scale questionnaire was used to measure quality of life related to general health (HRQoL) and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL). Anthropometric measures (weight and height) were used to calculate the body mass index. To evaluate caries and dental erosion, dental examinations were performed through the CPO-D and O'Sullivan indexes, respectively. Individuals at risk for EDs were matched with those without risk by school and age (1: 1) for data analysis. Data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS 18.0 software, using Pearson's Chi-Square, Fisher's exact test, Student's T-test and conditional logistic regression. A statistical significance level of 5% was adopted. Results: More than one-third of the adolescents (34.1%) were at risk for eating disorders. There was a statistically significant association between at -risk status for EDs and dental erosion (p <0.05) (OR = 4.0; CI: 1.8-9.0), but this association was not observed when comparing the risk to the presence of dental caries (p = 0.39). Conditional logistic regression showed that adolescents who did not use dental services in the last 6 months, who had a high BMI and who had a habit of vomiting were more likely to present a risk behavior for EDs (p <0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the dental caries experience between the groups with and without risk for EDs (p> 0.05), with regard to dental erosion, it was observed that the group with risk for EDs presented a mean of superior erosion to the risk-free group (p <0.001). Adolescents with dental caries had a lower mean OHRQoL score than adolescents without this condition (p <0.05) and adolescents with dental erosion had a lower HRQoL (p <0.001). In addition, dental erosion has been shown to have an impact on the QoL of adolescents at risk for EDs (p <0.05). Conclusions: The risk behavior for EDs was significantly associated with tooth erosion, but was not associated with dental caries. Adolescents with no risk for EDs have a HRQoL better than at-risk adolescents in all domains, as well as better OHRQoL. Dental erosion had an impact on the QoL of adolescents at risk for EDs.