Association between uncertainty stress and oral health-related quality of life among junior high school students in Zhejiang Province, China: a cross-sectional survey

Objectives To examine the relationship between uncertainty stress and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among junior high school students in Zhejiang Province, China, and to identify the sociodemographic factors that may influence this association.Design Cross-sectional survey using multistage cluster sampling.Setting Junior high schools in two cities (Ningbo and Jinhua) in Zhejiang Province, China, between April and July 2024.Participants 1348 eighth-grade students aged 13–16 years were included. Inclusion criteria: voluntary participation with guardian consent, absence of mental illness or physical disabilities and adequate literacy to complete questionnaires. Exclusion criteria: intellectual disability or incomplete responses.Outcome measures OHRQoL was dichotomised based on the Child Perceptions Questionnaire for 11- to 14-year-olds (CPQ11-14) median score (≤20=good OHRQoL and >20=poor OHRQoL). Uncertainty stress was measured via a validated 5-point Likert scale (≤12=low and ≥13=high).Results High uncertainty stress was significantly associated with poor OHRQoL (χ²=41.34, p