Determinants of oral health-related quality of life in African populations: an umbrella review of available evidence

Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) reflects the impact of oral conditions on an individual’s physical, psychological, and social well-being. Although determinants of OHRQoL have been widely investigated internationally, evidence from African populations remains fragmented and geographically uneven. This umbrella review aimed to synthesize and critically appraise the available review-level evidence on factors associated with OHRQoL in African populations. This umbrella review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and followed a validated methodological framework for umbrella reviews. The protocol was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261333034). A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE (via PubMed), Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase for English-language publications published between January 2000 and January 2026. Eligible studies included systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and scoping reviews reporting determinants of OHRQoL in African populations. Methodological quality was assessed using AMSTAR 2. Overlap between reviews was evaluated using a citation matrix and the corrected covered area (CCA). Findings were synthesized narratively. Only two reviews met the inclusion criteria, highlighting the very limited review-level evidence available on OHRQoL determinants in African populations. One high-quality systematic review examined determinants of OHRQoL among children across African countries, whereas one critically low-quality scoping review explored oral health status and OHRQoL among populations from the East African Community. This limited, geographically restricted, and methodologically heterogeneous evidence base substantially constrains the strength and generalizability of the conclusions. Within these limitations, reported factors associated with OHRQoL were grouped into five domains: sociodemographic, oral condition-related, behavioral, clinical, and contextual factors. Frequently reported factors included socioeconomic status, residential location, dental caries, missing teeth, oral hygiene practices, and general health conditions. Only two eligible reviews were identified, one focusing on children across Africa and one on populations from East Africa. The limited and geographically restricted evidence suggests that OHRQoL may be associated with multiple sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical, oral health-related, and contextual factors. However, findings should be interpreted cautiously because the available evidence is limited in quantity, geographical coverage, and methodological quality. Further high-quality systematic reviews and primary studies across diverse African regions are needed before continent-wide conclusions can be drawn.