Risk indicators of periodontal disease in Korean adults / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk indicators of periodontal disease in a representative sample of Korean adults aged between 18 and 44 years. METHODS: Data of 6,485 adults were derived from the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted from 2007 to 2009. Demographic, socioeconomic, and oral health-related behavioral data were collected as independent variables. The Community Periodontal Index (CPI) was used as a dependent variable. The chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the relationship between the CPI and the other variables. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that periodontal pocket formation (4 mm or more) was related with sex, age, and income level, irrespective of whether the mother engaged in economic activities in childhood, smoking experience, dental flossing, and use of interdental brushes. The subjects in the lowest-income quartile and those who were current smokers had a higher risk of pocket formation (odds ratios, 1.43 and 1.74, respectively) than those in the highest-income quartile and those who had no smoking experience, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed various risk indicators of periodontal disease in Korean adults, using Korean national survey data. Smoking cessation, dental flossing, and efforts to decrease socioeconomic inequality should be encouraged to decrease the risk of periodontal disease.

Are self reported morbidities deceptive in measuring socio-economic inequalities.

Background & objectives: The ambiguity and variability in existing literature on the magnitude of socio-economic inequality in self-reported morbidities makes it difficult to set priorities in health policy. This study examined three critical research questions: first, how far self-reporting affects measuring socio-economic inequalities in case of obstetric morbidities. Second, does using simple bivariate variations mislead in estimating socio-economic differentials in prevalence of obstetric morbidities? Finally, whether use of sophisticated regression based decomposition results can overcome such problems. Methods: The data from National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3; 2005-06) were used, and analyzed by statistical tools such as bivariate estimates and regression based decomposition analysis. Results: Bivariate results revealed that self-reported obstetric morbidity data were misleading in measurement of socio-economic differentials, as these failed to show existing socio-economic variations in obstetric morbidities by socio-economic standing of women. However, decomposition analysis showed that the prevalence of obstetric complications was greater among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Interpretation & conclusions: Based on our findings on measurement of socio-economic inequality in self-reported obstetric morbidity, we conclude that the use of regression based inequality decomposition estimates not only overcomes the problems of measuring socio-economic inequality based on self-reported morbidities, but also increases the validity of such measures.