ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of medical appointments and the offer and use of oral health services have decreased sharply with the lockdown period. Restriction to regular dental care can increase the risk of oral diseases, capable of affecting general health and oral health-related quality of life, particularly among medically compromised patients. This study aimed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients with non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective cohort of 58 patients with NAFLD followed up from March 2020 (before the pandemic) to December 2021 (during the pandemic). RAND 36-Item Health Survey and Oral Health Impact Profile 14 (OHIP-14) questionnaires were used to assess HRQoL and OHRQoL, respectively, in the two points of time. RESULTS: The scores of all scales HRQoL and of the question about health change in the last year decreased substantially with the advent of the pandemic. Large (>0.50) effect sizes were estimated for the scales Role functioning/physical, Pain, General health, and Energy/fatigue. Patients who had COVID-19 presented better HRQoL and OHIP-14 mean scores than those who did not have the disease. The OHIP-14 total score increased 3.6 points with the advent of the pandemic, representing a large effect size (0.62). Patients presented high probability (84.3%) of increasing OHIP14 score during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The HRQoL and the OHRQoL scores of NAFLD patients decreased substantially with the advent of the pandemic. However, these decreases were not associated with the COVID-19 disease by itself, but probably to other factors related to the deep social changes brought by the social isolation measures to combat the pandemic.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease , Humans , Quality of Life , Oral Health , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications , Pandemics , Prospective Studies , Communicable Disease Control , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Background: Despite using biosafety protocols, dentists fear contracting COVID-19 and face economic uncertainties about their professional future caused by the pandemic. Objective: This study aimed at determining the prevalence of anxiety and identifying factors associated with it among dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 408 Brazilian dental surgeons selected by snowball technique who filled an electronic questionnaire about sex, race, dental specialty, health habits, health-related quality of life, anxiety, and COVID-19-related aspects. Symptoms of anxiety were measured by the Beck anxiety inventory, and health-related quality of life was assessed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire. Poisson regression was used to obtain estimates of adjusted prevalence ratios. Results: The prevalence rate of anxiety was found to be 27.5% and it was significantly higher among dentists who were afraid of catching COVID-19 (Prevalence Ratio=PR=2.52), and among those who reported sweating, wheezing, and increased heart rate during work (PR=3.67). Afro-American dentists were 48% more anxious than dentists belonging to the white/yellow race. The mean value of the quality of life of anxious dentists compared to non-anxious dentists was 13% lower in the physical domain, 12% lower in the psychological domain, and 7% higher in the social relationship domain. Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety among Brazilian dentists, in the context of economic uncertainty and social distance imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is high and associated with the fear of contracting the disease, physical symptomatology of stress, being Afro-American, and altered quality of life in the physical, psychological, and social relationships domains.