Clustering of Oral and General Health Risk Behaviors in Korean Adolescents: A National Representative Sample

Abstract 

Purposes

To investigate the distribution of modifiable oral and general health risk behaviors according to socioeconomic status and to examine the extent of clustering of risk behaviors among Korean adolescents.

Methods

Self-reported data from 71,404 adolescents were obtained using a stratified cluster sample of students in the 7th to 12th grades who participated in the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influence of family affluence on health behaviors and the strength of associations of general health behaviors in models for oral health behaviors.

Results

Adolescents of high family affluence level were more likely to frequently brush their teeth, receive preventive dental care, eat breakfast, exercise regularly and become drunk, and were less likely to frequently smoke compared with those from less affluent families. Those who brush their teeth frequently were 19% less likely to smoke, 1.26 times more likely to eat breakfast, and 1.15 times more likely to do exercise. Those who received preventive dental care during the past year were 1.1 times more likely to smoke frequently and 1.38 times more likely to experience drunkenness once or more during the past year.

Conclusions

The co-occurrence of oral and general health risk behaviors among Korean adolescents and relatedness to the underlying socioeconomic environment suggest that clustering of health behaviors occurs before adulthood. Integrated efforts toward oral and general health promotion in the socioeconomic construct of the family environment may be needed to effect change in health risk behaviors among adolescents.

Keywords: Oral health behavior, General health behavior, Socioeconomic status, Tooth brushing, Smoking, Adolescent