Siziya Seter, Muula Adamson S, Rudatsikira Emmanuel
Department of Community Health, University of Malawi, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi.
BMC Res Notes. 2011 Jul 22;4:255. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-4-255.
Dental health is a neglected aspect of adolescent health globally but more so in low-income countries. Secondary analysis using the 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey (GSHS) was conducted in which we estimated frequencies of relevant socio-demographic variables and explored associations between selected explanatory variables and self-reported poor oral hygiene (not cleaning or brushing teeth) within the last 30 days of the completion of questionnaire.
Most of the 2257 respondents were males (53.9%) and went hungry (82.5%). More than 4 in 10 respondents drank alcohol (42.2%) while 37.2% smoked cannabis. Overall 10.0% of the respondents reported to have poor oral hygiene. Male respondents were 7% less likely to report to have poor oral hygiene compared to females. Compared to respondents who never drank alcohol, those who drank alcohol were 27% more likely to report to have poor oral hygiene. Respondents who smoked cannabis were 4% more likely to report to have poor oral hygiene compared to those who did not smoke cannabis. Finally, respondents who went hungry were 35% more likely to report to have poor oral hygiene compared to those who did not go hungry.
Results from this study indicate that female gender, alcohol drinking, cannabis smoking, and going hungry were associated with self-reported poor oral hygiene. The identification of these factors should guide the design and implementation of programs aimed to improve oral health among adolescents.
在全球范围内，牙齿健康是青少年健康中一个被忽视的方面，在低收入国家更是如此。我们利用2004年赞比亚全球学校健康调查（GSHS）进行了二次分析，估计了相关社会人口统计学变量的频率，并探讨了选定解释变量与问卷完成后过去30天内自我报告的口腔卫生差（不清洁或刷牙）之间的关联。
2257名受访者中大多数为男性（53.9%），且经历过饥饿（82.5%）。超过十分之四的受访者饮酒（42.2%），而37.2%的人吸食大麻。总体而言，10.0%的受访者报告口腔卫生差。与女性相比，男性受访者报告口腔卫生差的可能性低7%。与从不饮酒的受访者相比，饮酒的受访者报告口腔卫生差的可能性高27%。吸食大麻的受访者比不吸食大麻的受访者报告口腔卫生差的可能性高4%。最后，经历过饥饿的受访者比未经历过饥饿的受访者报告口腔卫生差的可能性高35%。
本研究结果表明，女性、饮酒、吸食大麻和饥饿与自我报告的口腔卫生差有关。识别这些因素应指导旨在改善青少年口腔健康的项目的设计和实施。
