The Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS): psychometric properties and application on preschoolers.

Background: The concept of oral health related to quality of life involves the impact that oral health has on an individual's well-being. The Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) was developed to measure the impact of oral health problems on the lives of children and their families. Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of ECOHIS applied to mothers of preschool children and estimate the influence of demographic characteristics, caries experience, and plaque index on the ECOHIS score. Methods: The fit of ECOHIS to the data was assessed by confirmatory analysis. Chi-square for degrees of freedom ratio (χ2/df), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) were used. Reliability was estimated by the ordinal coefficients alpha (α) and omega (ω). The factorial invariance was estimated by the difference in CFI (ΔCFI). Comparisons of the ECOHIS mean scores according to the demographic characteristics, caries experience, and plaque index was performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: A total of 371 children participated in the study. Mothers' mean age was 33.0 (SD = 7.04) years. The ECOHIS presented a good fit to the data (χ2/df = 4.31; CFI = 0.95; TLI = 0.94; RMSEA = 0.09) and a strict model invariance. Children without caries and from higher income class had lower oral health impact. Conclusion: The data obtained with the ECOHIS were valid, reliable, and invariant. Children with caries experience and from lower income families had a greater impact of oral problems.

Emotional Appetite Questionnaire: psychometric properties in Brazilian adult samples before and after the COVID-19 pandemic onset.

Background: Appetite represents a desire of a person to eat specific food in order to reach satisfaction and pleasure states. This desire may be associated with the experience of negative or positive emotions (emotional appetite). Emotional appetite can influence eating behavior, and its investigation is relevant to avoid possible damage to health resulting from a disordered eating. Objectives: To adapt the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) to the Portuguese language; to assess the validity and reliability of the data; and to assess emotional appetite in three samples of adults collected before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with non-probabilistic convenience sampling. The Portuguese version of the EMAQ was presented after translation, back-translation, and content analysis. Two studies were conducted, the first before and the second after the pandemic onset. Three samples were formed (2019: Sample 1 (age = 19.7 ± 1.5 years) n = 323; 2020: Sample 2 (age = 21.3 ± 1.8 years) n = 1,011; and Sample 3 (age = 28.9 ± 3.1 years) n = 909). An exploratory strategy with parallel analysis was performed. The analyses were conducted in FACTOR and R (lavaan and semTools packages) software. After determining the best-fit model for the data, emotional appetite was examined considering decrease, non-alteration, and increase in appetite in the face of positive and negative emotions/situations. The profile of emotional appetite was determined using a circumplex model. Results: The two-factor model described by the valence of emotions/situations fitted the samples (Comparative Fit Indexminimum-maximum = 0.95-0.98; Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.94-0.98; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.03-0.08; αord = 0.78-0.88). Increases in appetite were more frequent for positive emotions/situations (52.0-57.5%), and both decreases (35.4-44.5%) and increases (50.0-56.2%) in appetite were observed for negative emotions/situations. Emotions with negative valence and activation were more relevant to appetite reduction, while a significant increase in appetite was observed with anxiety (negative valence and positive activation). Conclusion: Different emotions and situations may influence appetite in people, and such an investigation may be useful in preparing eating protocols.

Development and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Orofacial Esthetic Scale: OES-Pt.

BACKGROUND: The Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES) is an instrument to assess an individual's perception of their Orofacial Appearance (OA). However, its translation and evaluation of psychometric properties is necessary for its use in Brazilian individuals. OBJECTIVES: To develop the Portuguese version of OES (OES-Pt), estimate its psychometric properties (validity, measurement invariance and reliability) when applied to Brazilian individuals aged 18-40 years, and estimate the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and OA. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using a convenience sample. The sample consisted of 1,072 Brazilian individuals (70.1% female, 25.1% dental patients; mean ± SD age: 25.7 ± 5.7 years). After cross-cultural adaptation of OES-Pt, factorial validity was evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent validity (average variance extracted (AVE)) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α) and Composite Reliability (CR)) were also estimated. Concurrent validity was assessed (Pearson's correlational analysis (r) between OES-Pt total score and item eight of the OES which refers to global assessment of OA). Measurement invariance of the factorial model (multigroup analysis using ΔCFI) was evaluated for independent samples (sample randomly split into two: "Test Sample" and "Validation Sample" and according to sex: male and female, age range: 18-30 and 31-40 years, and whether the individual is undergoing dental treatment or not). A Structural Equation Model estimated the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and OA. RESULTS: OES-Pt presented adequate fit to the sample. Convergent validity (AVE ≥ 0.56) and reliability (α and CR ≥ 0.89) were adequate. Concurrent validity was adequate (r = 0.88; p-value < 0.001). OES-Pt presented strict invariance for independent samples. Age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES) were related to OA, indicated by standardized beta coefficients (standardized ß) of 0.036 (standard error: 0.007), 0.001 (0.094) and 0.196 (0.061), respectively on OA. These three relationships were either weak or not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: When measuring OA in Brazilian individuals, the OES-Pt was valid, reliable and invariant for independent samples. Age, sex and SES were weak or not statistically significantly related to OA.