Influence of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of added sugars consumption on periodontal status in low-income women

Abstract

Background Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by interactions between bacterial infection and host response. Nutrition education plays an important role in preventing oral health diseases and related problems. The present research will assess oral hygiene practices, nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to added sugars, within the context of periodontal disease in low-income women. Methods A pre-validated Dental Nutrition Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors questionnaire was distributed among 220 low-income women. Periodontal disease was measured using clinical attachment loss and probing pocket depth. One-way ANOVA, linear, and multivariate logistic regression were utilized for analysis. Results Linear regression analysis exhibited significant positive associations of knowledge with attitude (r = 0.190, P = 0.000), and behavior (r = 0.298, P = 0.000), as well as attitude with behavior (r = 0.542, P = 0.000) of the low-income women. Women who scored higher on knowledge subscale were less likely to be in stage 2 [OR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.008–0.582, P = 0.002] and 3 [OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.009–0.916, P = 0.021], as compared to the lower stage. Those who scored higher on the attitude and behavior subscales were less likely to be in stage 2 [OR = 0.191, 95% CI: 0.066-.0559, P = 0.003 vs OR = 0.501, 95% CI: 0.172–1.461, P = 0.046] and 3 [OR = 0.178, 95% CI: 0.051–0.620, P = 0.007 vs OR = 0.215, 95% CI: 0.062–0.744, P = 0.015] than in stage 1. Conclusions Significant limited dental nutrition attitude, belief, and behavior regarding periodontal disease were observed. Health care professionals and dentists should provide nutrition counseling about periodontal disease during health care delivery visits.