Population Research Institute, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210042, China.
Ginling College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jul 7;18(14):7285. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18147285.
The role of health behaviors in oral health conditions in individuals of extremely old age remains understudied. This study included 185 participants aged 100 years or older from the Nanjing Centenarians Study (NCS) to examine the associations between health behaviors and oral health and investigate the potential moderating role of education and living arrangements in such relationships. The oral health status as an outcome included the self-reported oral health status and edentulous status. Health behavior variables included smoking, eating fruits, eating vegetables, participating in leisure activities, and practicing oral hygiene behaviors. Sociodemographic characteristics and health status were considered as confounders. Descriptive statistics, ordinal regression, and logistic regression models were used to address the research questions. Results showed that better oral health was reported by centenarians who were non-smokers, participated in more leisure activities, and practiced higher frequency of oral hygiene behaviors. Those who ate fruits daily and practiced more frequently oral hygiene behaviors were more likely to be dentate. The positive association of oral hygiene behaviors was stronger for centenarians who were formally educated and co-resided with family members. The results suggest that effective interventions should consider health behaviors and living arrangements in this growing population to improve their oral health status.
健康行为对超高龄个体口腔健康状况的作用仍有待研究。本研究纳入了来自南京百岁老人研究（NCS）的 185 名 100 岁及以上的参与者，以检验健康行为与口腔健康之间的关联，并探讨教育和居住安排在这些关系中的潜在调节作用。口腔健康状况作为结果，包括自我报告的口腔健康状况和无牙状况。健康行为变量包括吸烟、吃水果、吃蔬菜、参加休闲活动和进行口腔卫生行为。社会人口特征和健康状况被视为混杂因素。采用描述性统计、有序回归和逻辑回归模型来解决研究问题。结果表明，不吸烟、参加更多休闲活动和进行更高频率口腔卫生行为的百岁老人报告的口腔健康状况更好。那些每天吃水果和更频繁地进行口腔卫生行为的人更有可能有牙齿。对于受过正规教育和与家庭成员共同居住的百岁老人，口腔卫生行为的积极关联更强。研究结果表明，为改善这一不断增长的人口的口腔健康状况，有效的干预措施应考虑健康行为和居住安排。
