Comparison of the GOHAI and OHIP-14 as measures of the oral health-related quality of life of the elderly.
OBJECTIVE
This paper compares the performance of the GOHAI and the OHIP-14 as measures of the oral health-related quality of life of the compromised elderly.


METHODS
Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 225 participants, most of whom lived in a large geriatric care centre.


RESULTS
The mean age of subjects was 83 years and the majority had one or more chronic medical conditions and physical disabilities. Their main oral problems were high rates of tooth loss and xerostomia. Additive and simple count methods were used to derive GOHAI and OHIP-14 scores. Using the additive method, 8.4% had a GOHAI score of zero and 30.3% an OHIP-14 score of zero. Using the simple count method the percentage with a score of zero was 15.1% and 45.8%. Both measures discriminated between dentate subjects with and without one or more dentures, with and without a chewing problem and with and without dry mouth. Both also showed significant associations with self-rated oral health and satisfaction with oral health status. Associations tended to be stronger between GOHAI scores and these variables. The measures were equally good at predicting overall psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Although the GOHAI identified more oral functional and psychosocial impacts than the OHIP-14, neither was markedly superior to the other when used as discriminatory measures. However, the high prevalence of subjects with zero scores may compromise the ability of the OHIP-14 to detect within-subject change.
Locker
D
D
Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. david.locker@utoronto.ca
Matear
D
D
Stephens
M
M
Lawrence
H
H
Payne
B
B
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009909:Oral Health; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000523:psychology; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000523:psychology