title: Accuracy of self-reported periodontal disease in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examines the accuracy of self-reported periodontal disease in a cohort of older females.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study comprised 972 postmenopausal females aged 53 to 83 years who completed baseline (1997 to 2001) and follow-up (2002 to 2006) whole-mouth oral examinations. Examinations included: 1) probing depth, 2) clinical attachment level, and 3) oral radiographs for alveolar crestal height in a study ancillary to the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS) conducted in Buffalo, New York, called the OsteoPerio study. Participants also self-reported any history of diagnosis of periodontal/gum disease on a WHI-OS study-wide questionnaire administered during the time interval between the two OsteoPerio examinations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants reporting diagnosis of periodontal/gum disease on the WHI-OS questionnaire (n = 259; 26.6%) had worse oral hygiene habits, periodontal disease risk factors, and clinical periodontal measures compared with those not reporting periodontal/gum disease. Frequency of reported periodontal/gum disease was 13.5%, 24.7%, and 56.2% across OsteoPerio baseline examination categories of none/mild, moderate, and severe periodontal disease, respectively (trend: P <0.001), defined by criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/American Academy of Periodontology (CDC/AAP). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for reported periodontal disease status were 56.2%, 78.8%, 32.8%, and 90.7%, respectively, when CDC/AAP-defined severe periodontal disease at baseline was the criterion measure (prevalence of 15%) and were 76.0%, 77.4%, 22.0%, and 97.4%, respectively, when tooth loss to periodontitis (prevalence of 7%) was the criterion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A simple question for self-reported periodontal disease characterizes periodontal disease prevalence with moderate accuracy in postmenopausal females who regularly visit their dentist, particularly in those with more severe disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: LaMonte
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Hovey
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Millen
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Genco
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wactawski-Wende
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000453:epidemiology; D017698:Postmenopause; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Epidemiologic measurements; periodontal diseases; prevalence; reproducibility of results; self report; women