Correlation of dental health behavior with health awareness and subjective symptoms in a rural population in Japan

Asia Pac J Public Health. 2014 May;26(3):275-84. doi: 10.1177/1010539512436546. Epub 2012 Feb 13.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the association of dental health behavior with health awareness, oral condition, and subjective symptoms in Japan. The present study included 1699 individuals who underwent dental checkups at the public health center of Miura City. All those who underwent dental checkups were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The correlation between having a regular dentist and each of the other items was analyzed. Undergoing regular checkups was significantly related to having a regular dentist. To analyze the correlation of dental health behavior with Subjective symptoms and Health awareness, structured equation modeling was performed following factor analysis. As a result, only the regression weight between dental health behavior and health awareness was found to be statistically significant. The present survey indicates that dental health behavior was significantly related to Health awareness but not to Subjective symptoms.

Keywords: oral health; regular checkup; regular dentist; subjective symptoms.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Dental Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Health Behavior*
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Japan
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Oral Health*
  • Rural Population* / statistics & numerical data
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult