General health and well-being among primary care patients aged 75+ years: Associations with living conditions, oral health and dependency

Objective: Our aim was to examine the associations between general health and well-being with living conditions, oral health and degree of dependency. Methods: We surveyed people from a primary care service and collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, general health, health utility, well-being, activities, living conditions and oral health impact. Results: Overall, 459 participated (78% response rate). Poor general health was associated with decreased instrumental activities of daily living scores (18% of those with poor general health were independent vs 60% with good general health). Greater oral health impact was also related to poor general health. Health utility was lower for some dependency, for renting and oral health impact. Well-being was also lower for some dependency, for renting, not speaking English and oral health impact. Conclusion: In addition to the well-known association of poor general health with dependency, our results also illustrate the potential importance of living conditions and oral health.