title: Construct validity of Locker's global oral health item.
abstract: With clinical oral examinations not always possible in health surveys, researchers may instead be invited to add questions to a wider health survey. In such situations, an item is needed which adequately represents both clinical and self-reported oral health. This study investigated the clinical validity of Locker's global self-reported oral health item among young middle-aged adults in populations in New Zealand and Australia. Clinical examination and self-report data (including the OHIP-14) were obtained from recent national dental surveys in NZ and Australia, and from age-38 assessments in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. National dataset analyses involved 35- to 44-year-olds. Caries and tooth-loss experience showed mostly consistent, statistically significant gradients across the Locker item responses; those responding 'Excellent' had the lowest scores, and those responding 'Poor' the highest. Periodontitis experience gradients in the NZ national sample were mainly as hypothesized; those rating their oral health as 'Poor' had the highest disease experience. OHIP-14 gradients across the Locker item responses were consistent and as hypothesized. The proportion of disease in the population borne by those 'Fair' or 'Poor' ranged from 26% to 72%. These findings provide preliminary support for the measure's validity as a global self-reported oral health measure in young middle-aged adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Sciences, Sir John Walsh Research Institute, School of Dentistry, The University of Otago, 280 Great King St., Dunedin, 9001, New Zealand. murray.thomson@otago.ac.nz
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Mejia
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Broadbent
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poulton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D009909:Oral Health; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*