Associations and discrepancies between global self-ratings of oral health and general health: a Bayesian approach

G H Soares; B L Santos; M G H Biazevic; E Michel-Crosato; F L Mialhe

doi:10.1922/CDH_00215Soares07

Associations and discrepancies between global self-ratings of oral health and general health: a Bayesian approach

Community Dent Health. 2023 Nov 30;40(4):205-211. doi: 10.1922/CDH_00215Soares07.

Authors

G H Soares¹, B L Santos², M G H Biazevic³, E Michel-Crosato³, F L Mialhe²

Affiliations

¹ Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, The University of Adelaide, Australia.
² Department of Health Sciences and Paediatric Dentistry, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Brazil.
³ Department of Social Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo Dental School, Brazil.

PMID: 37642335
DOI: 10.1922/CDH_00215Soares07

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the discrepancies between global ratings of oral health and general health and investigate the factors associated with self-rated oral health (SROH) and self-rated general health (SRGH).

Methods: Data were collected from 502 participants aged 18 to 81 years. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data regarding sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported conditions. Global self-ratings of oral health and general health were the main outcomes. Discrepancies between self-ratings of oral health and general health were stratified by independent variables. Bayesian ordinal logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the posterior distributions of parameters and 95% credible intervals (95% CrI).

Results: The proportion of participants who rated their oral health worse than general health was 28.6% (95% CrI: 24.7-32.3). Negative discrepancies between SROH and SRGH were associated with being men, reporting gingivitis, and lower income. Sex (95% CrI: 1.12-2.25) impacted only on SRGH. Income (SROH - 95% CrI: 1.52-6.40; SRGH - 95% CrI: 1.08-4.56), tertiary education (SROH - 95% CrI: 1.13-2.53; SRGH - 95% CrI: 1.01-2.32), self-reported missing teeth (SROH - 95% CrI: 1.57-3.46; SRGH - 95% CrI: 2.21-4.92), self-reported gingivitis (SROH - 95% CrI: 1.10-2.40; SRGH - 95% CrI: 1.71-3.82), and self-reported chronic health problem (SROH - 95% CrI: 1.38-3.08; SRGH - 95% CrI: 1.61-3.59) impacted on both outcomes.

Conclusions: Substantial discrepancies between self-rated oral health and self-rated general health were found and were associated with being male, reporting gingivitis, and having lower income.

Keywords: Bayesian analysis; Patient reported outcome measures; oral health; public health dentistry; socioeconomic factors.

MeSH terms

Bayes Theorem
Female
Gingivitis*
Health Status
Humans
Male
Oral Health*
Surveys and Questionnaires