Relationship between rates of attending religious services and oral health in Brazilian adolescents

Abstract

Relationship between rates of attending religious services and oral health in Brazilian adolescents Jordão LMR, Saraiva LM, Sheiham A, Freire MCM. Relationship between rates of attending religious services and oral health in Brazilian adolescents. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2014; 42: 420-427.Abstract -Objectives: To determine whether there is a relationship between rates of attending religious services and oral health and oral health-related behaviors in Brazilian adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using clinical examinations and self-applied questionnaires. Sample was 664 15-year-old schoolchildren from public and private schools in the city of Goiânia-GO, Middle-West Brazil. Dependent variables were dental caries (DMFT and DMFS), periodontal condition (Plaque Index and bleeding on probing), perceived importance given to the care of the teeth and oral healthrelated behaviors (sugar consumption, oral hygiene and pattern of dental attendance). Independent explanatory variable was frequency of attending religious services. Poisson log-linear regressions were used for statistical analysis of the data. Results: Oral health status was not associated with attending religious services. Attending religious services was positively associated with oral health behaviors such as pattern of dental attendance for dental checkups and to the importance given to the care of the teeth. These associations remained statistically significant after controlling for sex and social class (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Adolescents' frequency of attending religious services is not associated with their oral health status but is positively related to pattern of dental attendance and perceived importance of care of their teeth.

The Association between Participation of Adolescents in Community Groups and Dental Caries in a Deprived Area in Brazil

“…Emotional and network support were not related to the self-rated oral health of adolescents [Pattussi et al, 2007]. Moreover, religious attendance was not associated with the oral health status of adolescents, including current caries and DMFT [Jordão et al, 2014]. The lack of agreement between our findings and previous studies may be explained by the oral health outcome and the type of social relationship assessed.…”

“…Supportive social ties can affect oral health by favouring engagement on health-promoting behaviours and preventing harmful habits. In addition, psychosocial factors originated from social relationships have been related to patterns of use of health care services [Berkman and Glass, 2000;Sisson, 2007;da Silva et al, 2011;Jordão et al, 2014]. Another mechanism linking social support with health is the 'stress buffering' effect of psychosocial factors, which helps individuals to cope with negative effects of environmental stressors [Cohen and Wills, 1985].…”

“…The lack of agreement between our findings and previous studies may be explained by the oral health outcome and the type of social relationship assessed. For instance, Jordão et al [2014] evaluated the frequency of attending religious activities as reported by the adolescents. Attending religious services might be a social norm imposed by parents and may not be considered participation in social activity, resulting in low impact on self-esteem and little influence on beliefs and behaviours [Yeager et al, 2006].…”

“…However, attending religious services was not associated with oral health status [Jordão et al, 2014]. Therefore, the role of social networks in dental caries remains unclear and needs further investigation.…”

Pathways of socioeconomic inequalities in gingival bleeding among adolescents

“…Religiosity as psychosocial pathway had a small direct effect (SC = −0.10) on changes on gingival bleeding in our analysis, as nonpractice or lower levels of religiosity of the parents produced higher levels of gingival bleeding in adolescents. Previous studies have associated religiosity with health outcomes . Pitel et al showed that religiosity was associated with healthier and fewer risk behaviours in drug use and smoking.…”