1. Geographic and socioeconomic variations in adolescent toothbrushing: a multilevel cross-sectional study of 15 year olds in Scotland.
- Author
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Levin KA, Nicholls N, Macdonald S, Dundas R, and Douglas GV
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Scotland, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Adolescent Behavior psychology, Health Behavior, Rural Population statistics & numerical data, Toothbrushing statistics & numerical data, Urban Population statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Background: This study examined urban-rural and socioeconomic differences in adolescent toothbrushing., Methods: The data were modelled using logistic multilevel modelling and the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method of estimation. Twice-a-day toothbrushing was regressed upon age, family affluence, family structure, school type, area-level deprivation and rurality, for boys and girls separately., Results: Boys' toothbrushing was associated with area-level deprivation but not rurality. Variance at the school level remained significant in the final model for boys' toothbrushing. The association between toothbrushing and area-level deprivation was particularly strong for girls, after adjustment for individuals' family affluence and type of school attended. Rurality too was independently significant with lower odds of brushing teeth in accessible rural areas., Conclusion: The findings are at odds with the results of a previous study which showed lower caries prevalence among children living in rural Scotland. A further study concluded that adolescents have a better diet in rural Scotland. In total, these studies highlight the need for an examination into the relative importance of diet and oral health on caries, as increases are observed in population obesity and consumption of sugars., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2015
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