Differences in smoking and tooth brushing habits among general high school and vocational high school students / 대한구강보건학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in smoking and toothbrushing habits between vocational and general high school students, using data from the 10th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. METHODS: This study performed a complex samples cross-tabulation analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify differences in smoking and brushing habits according to the school type on 35,904 students from 400 sample high schools. The final model of logistic regression analysis was adjusted for gender, grade, subjective socioeconomic status, paternal education, and maternal education. RESULTS: The risks of having experienced smoking and current smoking among vocational high school students were 2.3 times and 2.8 times higher compared with general high school students, respectively (P < 0.001). The risks of brushing teeth less than 3 times a day and not brushing teeth after lunch were 1.4 times and 2.0 times higher compared with general high school students, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests the need for developing and implementing an oral health program that reflects the characteristics of vocational high schools to reduce the differences in smoking and toothbrushing habits between general and vocational high school students.