title: The German version of the child perceptions questionnaire on oral health-related quality of life (CPQ-G11-14): population-based norm values.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) impairment and to establish norm values for the German version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ-G11-14, 35 questions) in the general population aged 11 to 14 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected in a national survey (n=1,597, mean age: 12.5 ± 1.2 years, 49.3% female) and subjects sampled using a multistage technique. OHRQoL was measured with the CPQ-G11-14, which was presented in a personal interview. Norm values were computed for the CPQ-G11-14 summary score (simple sum of all item responses). The CPQ-G11-14 summary score distribution was described by empirical cumulative distribution functions. Because orthodontic treatment was closely associated with CPQ-G11-14 summary scores, percentile-based norms were stratified by this variable.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The CPQ-G11-14 mean was 12.6 ± 15.9 units. There was no influence of age (p>0.05) or gender (p>0.05) on the CPQ-G summary scores, but the summary scores varied according to orthodontic treatment status (p<0.001). Among the general population sample, CPQ-G11-14 scores of the 50% less-impaired subjects were ≤7. The same percentage of subjects undergoing orthodontic treatment had scores of ≤13 and those without orthodontic treatment had scores of ≤5. We observed scores of ≤32 points in 90% of the population. That figure was ≤50 points for subjects undergoing orthodontic treatment and ≤21 points for those without orthodontic treatment. The most frequent problems the children and adolescents reported (CPQ-G answers "often" and "very often") were "breathing through the mouth" (13.0%), "mouth sores" (4.4%) and "bad breath" (4.3%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The norm values we present provide a frame of reference for future cross-sectional studies in the general population and in patient populations with specific oral conditions when measuring OHRQoL by CPQ-G11-14 in children and adolescents aged 11 to 14 years old.
authors: Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany. katrin.bekes@medizin.uni-halle.de
authors: Katrin
authors: K
authors: Bekes
authors: Mike T
authors: MT
authors: John
authors: Hans-Günter G
authors: HG
authors: Schaller
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Hirsch
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D003778:Dentures / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000523:psychology; D014177:Translations