Epidemiological, clinical and dental survey of elderly people hospitalized at the Santa Casa de Caridade Medical Clinic in Diamantina-MG

Abstract

Introduction: The aging of the world population is a sociodemographic scenario, especially in developing countries. Data from the Ministry of Health (2019) estimate that in Brazil, the population aged 60 or over is 30 million people, representing around 14% of the general population (210 million inhabitants). The aging process, in addition to epidemiological impacts, also generates social and economic impacts, highlighting the need for hospital admission. Hospitalized patients can present significant changes in their oral health, and these in turn can interfere with systemic conditions, contributing to an increase in the time and cost of hospital treatment. This work aimed to carry out an epidemiological and dental survey of patients over 60 years of age admitted to the Santa Casa de Caridade de Diamantina Medical Clinic (SCCD), to characterize the elderly population that uses the service. Methodology: This is a retrospective observational study, carried out based on the evaluation of the medical records of elderly patients admitted to the SCCD Medical Clinic from March 2022 to October 2022. The data were obtained from the analysis of the elderly patients' medical records who were admitted to the Medical Clinic during the research period, and underwent dental evaluation. Data relating to the elderly person's age, sex, city of residence, habits (drinking and smoking) and previous comorbidities were collected from the selected records. For the dental assessment, the following variables were collected: dental profile, presence of lesions, use of dental prostheses and oral hygiene condition. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed to characterize the sample using the Statistical Package for Social Science for Windows 20 (SPSS). Pearson's chi-square test was used to verify the association between the presence of oral lesions and the variables of interest. The data were tabulated and analyzed using p values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The present study involved the participation of 363 elderly hospitalized patients. The average age was 76.38 years and they were mostly male (52.1%). Among the Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) most prevalent in hospitalized elderly people, the following were observed: Systolic Arterial Hypertension (SAH) with 60%, Diabetes Mellitus (DM) with 23% and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with 23%. A satisfactory oral hygiene condition was noted in 188 (52%) and unsatisfactory in 175 (48%) elderly people. 259 elderly people were completely edentulous. 308 (84.8%) upper edentulous, 53 (14.6%) upper partial dentate, 2 (0.6%) upper full dentate, 273 (75.2%) lower edentulous, 89 (24.5%) dentate lower partial and 1 (0.3%) lower total dent. The presence of oral lesions found during clinical evaluation was related to the presence of hygiene habits, smoking, alcohol consumption and use of dental prostheses. The use of upper complete dentures was statistically associated with the presence of oral lesions such as candidiasis, traumatic herpes zoster ulcer, fibrous hyperplasia and necrotizing gingivitis (p=0.001). Conclusion: The results showed the need for interventions aimed at improving oral health in hospitalized elderly people. Furthermore, this study demonstrated the need and importance of including Dental Surgeons professionals in multidisciplinary care teams for hospitalized patients.