A Study to Assess the Oral Health Related Quality of Life among Eunuchs Residing in Central Gujarat
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/4arw7t26Keywords:
OHRQoL, OHIP, Eunuchs, Behavior, AttitudeAbstract
Introduction: The health and quality of life overall are affected by an individual’s oral health. The low- and middle-income countries are affected by inadequate attention to oral health, which results in oral disease becoming a major public health problem that needs to be addressed. This is the reason, recently, there is increasing attention and global awareness given to oral health and its various determinants. Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) is defined by individual assessment of several oral health dimensions, including physical dental function, tooth pain, psychological discomfort, and social impacts--all of which affect overall well-being. Self-reported subjective indicators of OHRQoL correlate well with objective clinical measures of oral health status. So OHRQoL at the individual level points to the need for clinical treatment and at the population level can be used to evaluate oral health interventions.
Objectives: To assess the OHRQoL using OHIP 14 and to analyze the association between the OHRQoL using OHIP 14 and various demographic variables.
Methodology: The survey was conducted among the 384 eunuchs living in central Gujarat. Non-probability snowball sampling was used in the inclusion of self-identified eunuchs. The data was recorded by one examiner (primary investigator) and one recorder (calibrated dental hygienist) for the entire study. The data was collected through structured schedules, resulting in quantitative data. The data was analyzed with the chi-square test of association, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test using SPSS version 21.
Results: The study shows that out of 384 eunuchs, 1.04% were children less than 11 years old, 3.9% were adolescents, 74.44% were adults who were more than 18 years old and less than 60 years and the remaining sample, that is, 20.5%, were more than 60 years old. 27.5% of the participants had an educational background, 87% of the participants were dentate, and the remaining were edentate. The oral health-related quality of life showed significant association and difference between the various parameters and the demographic variable.
Conclusion: In general, the quality of dental health and oral health-related quality of life are interlinked and positively associated with the various demographic factors like gender, age group, educational background, and income. The eunuchs form a vulnerable population, and immediate action is required in preventive and promotive aspects to improve the oral health-related quality of life, which in turn would improve the overall quality of life. This in turn will drive this socially stigmatized community to have a positive dental health attitude and behavior.
Downloads
References
[1] WHO: The World Oral Health Report: Continuous improvement of oral health in the 21st century - the approach of the WHO Global Oral Health Programme. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003.
[2] Kwan S, Petersen PE: Oral health: equity and social determinants. In Equity, social determinants and public health programs. Edited by: Blas E, Kurup AS. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010: 159–176.
[3] Petersen PE, Bourgeois D, Ogawa H, Estupinan-Day S, Ndiaye C: The global burden of oral diseases and risks to oral health. Bull World Health Organ 2005, 83: 661–669.
[4] Allen PF: Assessment of oral health-related quality of life. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2003, 1: 40.10.1186/1477-7525-1-40
[5] Brennan DS, Spencer AJ: Dimensions of oral health related quality of life measured by EQ-5D+ and OHIP-14. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2004, 2: 35. 10.1186/1477-7525-2-35
[6] Gerritsen AE, Allen PF, Witter DJ, Bronkhorst EM, Creugers NH: Tooth loss and oral health-related quality of life: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2010;8-12
[7] Locker D, Slade G: Association between clinical and subjective indicators of oral health status in an older adult population. Gerodontology 1994, 11: 108–114.
[8] Tsakos G, Steele JG, Marcenes W, Walls AW, Sheiham A: Clinical correlates of oral health-related quality of life: evidence from a national sample of British older people. European Journal of Oral Sciences 2006;114: 391–395.
[9] Rehan N, Chaudhary I, Shah SK. Family Planning Association of Pakistan, Socio-sexual Behavior of Hijras of Lahore. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association. 2009; 59: 380.
[10] Nanda S. Neither man nor woman: the hijra of India. (2nd ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1999, pp. 196.
[11] Bhakti M, Hijrahs—The Plight of Transvestites (internet). 2012 August 20. Available from: http://gyaanyatra.affp.org.uk/news/story/hijrahs-plight-transvestites.
[12] Eunuchs of India (internet) 2010 September 25. Available from http://www.menknowwomen.com/HIjras_pdf/I%20Eunuchs%20in%20India.pdf.
[13] Eunuchs of India - Deprived of Human Rights. Accessed (Sep 22, 2013) at www.humanrightsdefence.org/eunuchs-of-india-deprived-of-human-rights.html. [14] Hongal S et al.: Oral health-related knowledge, attitude, and practices among eunuchs (hijras) residing in Bhopal City, Madhya Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Journal of the Indian Society of Periodontology; 6(2): 23-27.
[15] Syed Wali Peeran et al., “Oral Hygiene and Periodontal Status Among Eunuchs in Chennai, India.” EC Dental Science 15.4 (2017): 123-126.
[16] Saxena et al. Analysis of rugae pattern among male, female, and transgender populations. Journal of Forensic Dental Science. 2015; 7(2): 142–147.
[17] Torwane NA et al. Assessment of periodontal status among eunuchs residing in Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh, India: a cross-sectional study. Oral Health and Dental Management. 2014; (3): 628-33.
[18] Dangi J, Kinnunen TH, Zavras AI. Challenges in global improvement of oral cancer outcomes: Findings from rural Northern India. TobInduc Dis 2012; 10:5.
[19] Stronks K, van de Mheen HD, Looman CW, Mackenbach JP. Cultural, material, and psychosocial correlates of the socioeconomic gradient in smoking behavior among adults. Prev Med 1997; 26: 754-66.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 AUTHOR
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
