Clustering of oral and general health risk behaviors among adolescents

Abstract

Since the co-occurrence of several health-risk behaviors is associated with an increase in chronic diseases, the study of clustering is relevant. The aim of this study was to evaluate how seven types of general and oral health-risk behaviors, cluster among adolescents. A cross-sectional analysis was performed with a sample of high school students from state public schools in São Lourenco da Mata, State of Pernambuco, Brazil (n = 1154). Data were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. To identify cluster solutions of seven general and oral health-risk behaviors, Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis (HACA) was performed. Most of the adolescents participating in the study was female (54.3%) and aged <16 years old (77.1%). HACA indicated two broad stable clusters for the seven health-risk types of behaviors. The first cluster included following behaviors: smoking, drinking and less frequent tooth brushing. The second cluster reveals the combination of high bread, pasta and snack intake; high intake of sweets; high intake of soft drinks; low intake of fruits and vegetables. Results provided by HACA identified two groups of health-risk behaviors. The first cluster mainly shows risk (problematic) behaviors, whereas the second cluster denotes the non-adhesion of preventive behavior (non-healthy diet). Health-compromising behaviors are common among teens and occur in distinct clusters. These findings could be used by schools, health promotion authorities and other stakeholders to design and implement tailored preventive interventions in Pernambuco, Brazil. Therefore, clustering of several types of behavior has important implications for a comprehensive strategy in health promotion policies and practices.

Psychological distress, oral health behaviour and related factors among adolescents: Finnish School Health Promotion Study

“…In this study, smoking associated with poor tooth brushing, especially among boys. Earlier studies have shown similar findings among boys and girls [ 18 , 39 ] and among young men [ 40 ]. In general, smokers tend to have poorer oral health habits and oral health than non-smokers have [ 40 ].…”

“…One recent study of 71 449 participants found that a higher frequency of daily tooth brushing reduced the development of all types of malignancies [ 41 ]. Additionally, because poor health behaviours tend to cluster together [ 16 , 18 , 39 ], infrequent tooth brushing, together with other poor health habits and other aspects of life, may contribute to poor perceived health.…”

Clustering of health risk behaviors among adolescents in Kilifi, Kenya, a rural Sub-Saharan African setting

“…For instance, a survey conducted among adolescents from 9 African countries reported sub-optimal tooth brushing among 22% and only 58% of the sample reported regular handwashing after using the toilet [ 31 ]. Some studies among adolescents have also reported an overlap between behaviors linked to communicable diseases and NCDs [ 32 , 33 ]. This behavioral overlap (i.e.…”

Oral Condition and Incident Coronary Heart Disease: A Clustering Analysis

“…So far, clustering approaches have been scarcely used to investigate oral conditions. Previous cluster analyses were conducted on oral health attitude and behaviors (Komabayashi et al 2006; Austregésilo et al 2019) and the potential combination of periodontal clinical characteristics and corresponding oral microbial profiles (Boutin et al 2017). To our best knowledge, the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) is the sole community-based study that correlates clusters of oral health with systemic conditions such as CVD risk factors.…”