Experience in practice has suggested that children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to have higher numbers of diseased, missing and filled teeth (DMFT score) than children without the condition. To date, however, this impression has not been systematically investigated. A case-control study of children in Otago, New Zealand (case DMFT ≧ 5; control DMFT <5; case status determined from School Dental Service dental records) was conducted by postal survey and reference to the School Dental Service records. Cases and controls were matched on age, sex, ethnicity, and school socio-economic status. The purpose of the study was to assess whether having ADHD was associated with higher odds of having high caries experience. Questionnaires were returned for a total of 128 case-control pairs. Conditional logistical regression analysis showed that, after controlling for fluoride history, medical problems, diet, and self-reported oral hygiene, children with ADHD had nearly 12 times the odds of having a high DMFT score than children who did not have ADHD (OR = 11.98; 95% CI 1.13, 91.81). No other factors were significant predictors. Dental practitioners and parents should consider ADHD to be a condition that may affect children’s dental caries experience.

Background and Purpose. When factors that influence exercise behavior are known, health care professionals can more likely design and modify patient education materials targeted to promote exercise behavior. This study aimed to identify predictors of exercise behavior in patients with rheumatoid arthritis 6 months after a visit with their rheumatologist. Subjects and Methods. Twenty-five rheumatologists and 132 patients with rheumatoid arthritis participated. One hundred thirteen patients (85.6%) completed the 6-month follow-up. Rheumatologists and patients completed baseline questionnaires and were audiotaped during a subsequent visit. Physical function and exercise behavior were ascertained via questionnaire 6 months following the visit. Multivariate logistic regression identified predictors of exercise behavior at 6 months. Eighty-nine patients (79%) were female. The average age was 54.8 years (SD=14.4, range=20–94). The mean duration of illness was 9.8 years (SD=8.7, range=&lt;1–35). Patients were moderately impaired (mean Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36] function score=49.3, SD=27.5). Thirty-four patients (27%) were exercising 6 months after visiting their rheumatologist. More than 50% of the rheumatologists had 5 or more years of clinical experience, 18 (72%) were male, and 10 (42%) reported they exercised regularly. Results. Predictors of exercise behavior at 6 months were patients' past history of exercise (odds ratio=6.8, 95% confidence interval=3.1–15) and rheumatologists' current exercise behavior (odds ratio=0.26, 95% confidence interval= 0.09–0.77). Discussion and Conclusion. Patients were nearly 7 times more likely to exercise 6 months after visiting their rheumatologist if they participated in exercise in the past. If a patient's rheumatologist was currently performing aerobic exercise, the patient was 26% more likely to be engaged in exercise at follow-up. These data may be useful in understanding patient motivation to participate in exercise.