Turkish Adaptation of the Halitosis Associated Life-Quality Test (HALT-TR): Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Initial Psychometric Evaluation in Adults with Self-Perceived Halitosis
Background/Objectives: This study translated and culturally adapted the Halitosis Associated Life-Quality Test into Turkish (HALT-TR) and conducted an initial evaluation of its measurement properties in adults with self-perceived halitosis. Methods: A total of 200 adults with self-perceived halitosis completed HALT-TR and OHIP-14 before and one week after completion of clinically indicated periodontal and/or restorative treatment. Halitosis was not objectively confirmed, and treatment types were not recorded individually. Internal consistency, dimensional structure, associations with OHIP-14, and standardized treatment-related change were examined. Exploratory PCA and CFA used the same sample. Results: All 200 participants had complete responses on both instruments at both assessments. Cronbach’s α was 0.918. PCA identified three components, but CFA showed inadequate fit (RMSEA = 0.18; CFI = 0.88). The HALT-TR–OHIP-14 correlation was absent at baseline (ρ = −0.080; p = 0.259), weak after treatment (ρ = 0.266; p < 0.001), and absent for individual changes (ρ = −0.091; p = 0.200). Mean HALT-TR scores decreased from 38.33 ± 15.42 to 9.58 ± 14.13 (SRM = 1.35). At follow-up, 40.5% had a HALT-TR total score of zero. Conclusions: HALT-TR showed high internal consistency and substantial standardized short-term treatment-related change. Structural validity and convergent validity remain insufficiently established. The total score is preliminary, and routine clinical use requires further evaluation.
Authors
- Pınar Güvenç (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9410-8391)
- Hülya Erten Can
- Asli Silkü Oflioğlu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1210-9867)
- Deniz Çetin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0681-8879)
Institutions
- Dokuz Eylül University (TR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Healthcare
- Published
- 2026-10-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14203413
- Primary Topic
- Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00