title: Oral Health and Quality of Life in Old Age: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Project in Germany and Poland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The process of ageing influences all dimensions of social life and personal well-being, but the influence of health on different dimensions of quality of life (QoL) among the elderly is rarely examined.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the pilot study is to test the feasibility of a comprehensive study design to evaluate general and dental health as well as QoL in a bi-national sample. In addition, this pilot study should allow for the exploration of potential interactions between QoL, socioeconomic, health and oral health variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individuals aged 64 years and older (n = 100) from university dental clinics of the Wroclaw Medical University, Poland (n = 50) and of the University Hospital in Dresden, Germany (n = 50) were examined. The oral health status of participants was assessed by clinical examination. Socio-demographic, environmental and general health status were evaluated during the medical interview. General quality of life (GQoL) was assessed by an overall question with a visual analogue scale (VAS) from -5 (worst) to +5 (best). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) were measured with the EQ-5D and OHIP-14 questionnaires. Statistical analyses comprised Pearson's c2 test, Wilcoxon test, linear regression model for statistical analysis and different multivariate linear regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For the GQoL-VAS-Score the results for QoL measurements were 1.22 ± 2.62 (x± SD), for EQ-5D-Score 7.45 ± 2.25 (x± SD), and for OHIP-14-ADD-Score 11.04 ± 13.56 (x± SD). Differences between Polish and German populations were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study design proved to be feasible for a senior population. The overall GQoL question, EQ-5D and OHIP-14 were regarded as appropriate instruments. Subjective and objective (oral) health measures showed differences between Germany and Poland. For methodological reasons, these differences are not generalizable, but of value for study hypotheses in larger samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Pedodontics, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Skośkiewicz-Malinowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Noack
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.|Institute for Bioinformatics, University Medicine Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaderali
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Pedodontics, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Malicka
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walczak
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Operative and Pediatric Dentistry, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Marie-Theres
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Division of Oral Pathology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mendak-Ziółko
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziętek
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Pedodontics, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Urszula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kaczmarek
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Operative and Pediatric Dentistry, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hannig
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Division of Oral Pathology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radwan-Oczko
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, The Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, The University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raedel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011044:Poland; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: dental care for the aged; epidemiologic research design; feasibility studies; geriatric dentistry; quality of life