Edentulism and quality of life among older Ghanaian adults

Background: Edentulism affects the quality of life and general health of an individual. But in ageing individuals, it has been observed to have greater impact, manifesting in functional, psychological and social limitations. With an increasing older adult population in Ghana, its burden is likely to increase. This study was thus carried out to explore the association between edentulism and quality of life among older Ghanaian adults. Methods: Secondary analysis of WHO's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 1 in Ghana was conducted using self-reported edentulism as the dependent variable. Participants included a nationally representative sample of adult's aged 50 years and older living in Ghana. Quality of life was measured using the 8 item WHOQOL measure and a single item measure which was a question "How would you rate your overall quality of life?". To assess the association between edentulism and the independent variables, a bivariate analysis was carried out. A Poisson regression model was then performed, adjusting for age, sex, income, education and the diagnosis of a chronic disease condition. A Spearman's correlation analysis was also carried out between the single and multi item measure of quality of life to assess how well they correlate.