Premium
Are school and home environmental characteristics associated with oral health‐related quality of life in Brazilian adolescents and young adults?
Author(s) -
Alwadi Maram Ali M.,
Vettore Mario Vianna
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/cdoe.12298
Subject(s) - medicine , poisson regression , socioeconomic status , quality of life (healthcare) , demography , multilevel model , oral health , gerontology , logistic regression , environmental health , population , dentistry , sociology , computer science , nursing , machine learning
Objectives The aim of this study was to test the association of contextual school and home environmental characteristics and individual factors with oral health‐related quality of life ( OHRQ oL) in a representative sample of Brazilian adolescents and young adults. Methods Individual‐level data from 3854 fifteen‐ to nineteen‐year‐olds who participated in the Brazilian Oral Health Survey were pooled with contextual city‐level data. The dependent variable was the frequency of impacts of oral disorders on daily performances ( OIDP extent), as a measure of OHRQ oL. Contextual school and home environmental characteristics were categorized into three equal groups according to tertiles of the contextual variable's scores (low, moderate and high). Individual demographic, socioeconomic and oral clinical measures were the covariates. The association between contextual and individual characteristics and OIDP extent was estimated using multilevel Poisson regression models. Results The mean of OIDP extent was 0.9 (standard error 0.1). Adolescents and young adults living in the cities with high levels of lack of security at school ( RR 1.33; 95% CI =1.02‐1.74), moderate levels of bullying at school ( RR 1.56; 95% CI =1.20‐2.03) and moderate levels of low maternal schooling ( RR 1.43; 95% CI =1.06‐1.92) had a higher mean OIDP extent. Male sex, higher age, skin colour, poor individual socioeconomic status and worse oral clinical measures were also associated with higher mean of OIDP extent. Conclusions Poor school and home environmental characteristics were independently associated with poor OHRQ oL in individuals aged between 15 and 19 years. Our findings suggest the place where they study and the maternal level of education are meaningful aspects for their oral health.