An empirical test of the validity of the Oral Health Status Index (OHSI) on a minority population

Disease varies in different populations based on sociodemographic variables, and there is limited understanding of this interaction. The purpose of this methodological study was to determine the validity of the Oral Health Status Index, a disease-based index, on a Hispanic population by comparing it with the NIDCR epidemiological measures of disease, with the addition of demographic and behavioral variables. The epidemiologic data were collected according to the criteria defined by the NIDCR, including: a modified Decayed Missing Filled Surfaces Index, gingival inflammation, calculus, and destructive periodontal disease measures. The demographic and behavioral variables were gathered from 240 interviews with Hispanic adults in two community clinics. Bivariate analysis was used to determine relationships between the descriptive epidemiologic, demographic, and behavioral variables and the Oral Health Status Index (OHSI). There were statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in mean OHSI scores among the demographic variables age, education, income, and place of birth; and the behavioral variables alcohol consumption, flossing, and acculturation. Multiple regression analysis with the OHSI as the dependent variable showed that the statistically significant (p < 0.001) epidemiologic predictors were: percentage of Decayed Teeth/Decayed, Filled Teeth; Number of Replaced Teeth/Missing Teeth; and millimeters of mesial attachment loss. These collectively explained 47.49% of the variance in the regression. The addition of demographic variables to the epidemiologic regression identified age (p < 0.05), gender (p < 0.01), and place of birth (p < 0.01) as significant predictors that explained an additional 4.12% of the variance, collectively bringing the total explained variance to 51.61%. The behavioral variables did not contribute significantly to predicting the OHSI regression score. The Oral Health Status Index in this study is validated by its correlation with both the epidemiologic measures and the demographic variables. This combination of variables separated the Hispanics into Mexicans and Central/South Americans.