title: General health-related quality of life and oral health impact among Australians with cleft compared with population norms; age and gender differences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate general health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and oral health impact among adults treated for cleft to determine age and gender differences, and to compare against population norms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nonsyndromic cleft patients treated by the Australian Craniofacial Unit from 1975 to 2009 were recruited (n  =  112). Response rate was 79% (n  =  88). Main outcome measures : HRQoL was measured by the Short Form (SF)-36 questionnaire. Oral health impact was measured by the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-14 questionnaire. State-based and national norms were used for comparative purposes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant age or sex differences in the cleft sample's SF-36 and OHIP-14 scores. When compared against South Australian 2002 state-level norms, cleft participants scored higher on physical function and physical role function but lower on vitality and mental health. The prevalence of having experienced one or more of OHIP-14 items "fairly often" or "very often" was 2.7 times higher than national-level estimates, while extent was 2.8 times and severity 1.7 times higher.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The oral health impact among cleft patients included in our study was poor compared with population-level estimates. The HRQoL showed mixed results, with the vitality and mental health components being poorer in the cleft group compared with population-level estimates. These results indicate that treatment for orofacial clefting does not entirely remove the factors contributing to poor HRQoL and oral health.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sampson
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: David
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D013021:South Australia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires