The aim was to assess associations of general and oral health perceptions, and the
impact of general and oral health functional problems on general health perceptions.
Data were collected from adults, 60–71 yr of age in 2008, and included global selfratings
of general and oral health, Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) scores, and
health problem scores [using the five items from the EuroQol instrument (EQ-5D)].
Responses were collected from 444 subjects (response rate = 68.8%). Self-rated
general and oral health showed fair to good agreement (kappa = 0.47). Adjusted
estimates of self-rated general health showed that worse ratings were associated with
lower social status [prevalence ratio (PR) = 0.42] and with more health problems
(PR = 0.64). Adjusted estimates of self-rated oral health also showed that worse
ratings were associated with lower social status (PR = 0.48) and with more health
problems (PR = 0.63), as well as with higher OHIP scores (PR = 0.21). The interaction
of health problems and OHIP scores was significant for self-rated general
health, with self-rated general health being worse when both health problems and
OHIP score were higher. For older adults, general health and oral health were associated,
although oral health impact was only associated with general health for those
with more health problems, indicating that those in worse health suffer more impact
from oral health problems.