Oral health-related quality of life in mild Alzheimer: patient versus caregiver perceptions.

PURPOSE: To compare perceptions on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) between Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and their caregivers by using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Correlation between GOHAI and prostheses quality was also performed. METHODS: GOHAI was applied to 16 AD elders and their caregivers. GOHAI index was compared to objective measures of AD patients' prostheses quality, rated by a researcher. Data were submitted to Wilcoxon signed rank and McNemar tests (alpha = 5%). Kappa correlations verified the concordance for GOHAI scores between AD patients and caregivers. Spearman's correlation was used to explore concordance between GOHAI scores and prostheses quality indices. RESULTS: Total GOHAI scores from AD patients and caregivers were similar (P = 0.262). Overall Kappa was good (0.62). There were no correlations between GOHAI scores and prostheses quality. CONCLUSION: AD patients assess and self-report their OHRQoL similarly to their main caregiver.