Comparison of the OHIP-14 and GOHAI as measures of oral health among elderly in Lebanon

BACKGROUND The respective abilities of the GOHAI and OHIP-14 to discriminate between aged patients with different levels of oral diseases have rarely been studied in developing countries. The aim of this study was to compare the discriminative abilities of the OHIP-14 and the GOHAI in an elderly Lebanese population, and particularly to identify persons with different masticatory function. METHODS A sample of elderly, aged 65 years or more, living independently was recruited in two primary care offices in Beirut, Lebanon. Data were collected by means of personal interview and clinical examination. The Arabic OHIP-14 and GOHAI questionnaires were used after cultural adaptation for use in Lebanon. The internal consistency, reproducibility and concurrent validity were verified. To test their discriminative abilities, the ADD (GOHAI and OHIP) and SC (GOHAI and OHIP) scores were dichotomized according to the 25th and 75th percentile respectively and logistic regressions were conducted using socio-demographic, clinical and subjective explanatory variables. RESULTS Two hundred and six participants were included; mean age was 72 years and 60% were women. Good psychometric properties were observed for both questionnaires for internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha>0.88), reproducibility (ICC>0.86) and concurrent validity. Strong correlations were found between GOHAI and OHIP-14 scores but a high prevalence of subjects with no impact was observed using the OHIP-14. Both questionnaires were able to discriminate between participants according to age, perception of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain or functional status as represented by the number of dental Functional Units (FU). GOHAI was more discriminant since it identified participants with high dental care needs: high numbers of decayed teeth, low numbers of teeth and socially deprived status. CONCLUSIONS Lebanese elderly with high dental care needs and impaired oral health were identified more easily with the GOHAI. These results may guide the choice of dental indicators to use in a national geriatric survey.