Luo Huabin, Wu Bei
Department of Public Health, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina (Dr Luo); and School of Nursing, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (Dr Wu).
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2017 Mar/Apr;23(2):e1-e7. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000408.
To assess the extent of self-awareness of gum disease among adults in the United States.
Data were from the 2009-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The outcome variable is self-awareness of gum disease. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between self-awareness and clinically diagnosed periodontitis. The analytical sample included 6876 participants.
Among those participants (30 years or older) who were classified as having periodontitis, 27% (95% confidence interval [CI], 24.4-29.8) were self-aware of the disease (positive predicted value = 25%). Of those who self-reported having gum disease, 14.1% had a diagnosis of periodontitis (sensitivity = 75%). Older adults were less likely to be aware of gum disease (P < .05). Non-Hispanic blacks (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.53-0.85) were less likely to be aware of the disease than non-Hispanic whites. Adults with diabetes (AOR = 1.61; 95% CI, 1.25-2.06), or with lung disease (AOR = 1.61; 95% CI, 1.25-2.08), or current smokers (AOR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.29-2.31) were more likely to be aware of the disease.
The study showed that self-awareness of gum disease among adults was low. Our study findings suggest that there is a great need to improve oral health knowledge and awareness among the adult population in the United States.
评估美国成年人对牙龈疾病的自我认知程度。
数据来自2009 - 2012年国家健康与营养检查调查。结果变量是牙龈疾病的自我认知。采用多变量逻辑回归模型来检验自我认知与临床诊断的牙周炎之间的关系。分析样本包括6876名参与者。
在那些被归类为患有牙周炎的参与者（30岁及以上）中，27%（95%置信区间[CI]，24.4 - 29.8）自我意识到患有该疾病（阳性预测值 = 25%）。在那些自我报告患有牙龈疾病的人中，14.1%被诊断为患有牙周炎（敏感性 = 75%）。老年人意识到牙龈疾病的可能性较小（P <.05）。非西班牙裔黑人（调整后的优势比[AOR] = 0.67；95% CI，0.53 - 0.85）比非西班牙裔白人意识到该疾病的可能性更小。患有糖尿病（AOR = 1.61；95% CI，1.25 - 2.06）、肺部疾病（AOR = 1.61；95% CI，1.25 - 2.08）或当前吸烟者（AOR = 1.72；95% CI，1.29 - 2.31）意识到该疾病的可能性更大。
该研究表明成年人对牙龈疾病的自我认知较低。我们的研究结果表明，美国成年人群体非常需要提高口腔健康知识和意识。
