Self-perceived oral health among adults in Northeastern Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To identify self-perceived oral health in adults and associated variables. METHODS: The study involved primary data from the Brazilian Oral Health Survey (SBBrasil) 2010 with 2,456 adults aged 35 to 44 in the Northeastern Brazil. The dependent variable was self-perceived oral health and the independent variables were grouped into four blocks: demographic, predisposing/facilitation, oral health status and those related to self-perceived need for treatment. The Rao and Scott test was used to test the association between these variables. To test the effect of the independent variables on the outcome, a multinomial logistic regression model was used according to the hierarchical model, resulting in an analysis divided into two stages: simple analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Positive self-perception of oral health was observed in 37% of the participants. In the final model, the features directly associated with this perception were being white, having a household income exceeding R$ 500.00, owning goods number above the median, having more sound teeth, not experiencing bleeding, not requiring prosthesis, Oral Imparcts on Daily Performances = 0, not requiring treatment, having gone to the dentist less than 3 years ago. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that self-perceived oral health in adults living in the Northeast is directly associated with a multidimensional structure of factors. The poor economic conditions associated with poor clinical conditions impact heavily on this population’s self-perception of oral health.

研究目的：旨在探究成年人群的自我感知口腔健康状况及其相关影响变量。
研究方法：本研究采用2010年巴西口腔健康调查（Brazilian Oral Health Survey，缩写SBBrasil）的一手数据，调研对象为巴西东北部地区2456名年龄在35至44岁之间的成年人。本研究的因变量为自我感知口腔健康状况，自变量被划分为四大类别：人口统计学变量、易感/促进类变量、口腔健康状态变量，以及与自我感知治疗需求相关的变量。采用Rao-Scott检验分析各类变量间的关联；依据分层模型构建多项逻辑回归模型，以验证自变量对研究结局的影响效应，分析分为两个阶段：单因素分析与分层多因素回归分析。
研究结果：37%的参与者呈现出正向的自我感知口腔健康状况。在最终模型中，与该正向感知直接相关的特征包括：为白人种族、家庭收入超过500巴西雷亚尔（R$500.00）、拥有资产数量高于中位数、存留更多健全天然牙、无牙龈出血症状、无需佩戴义齿、口腔问题对日常活动的影响程度为0（Oral Imparcts on Daily Performances = 0）、无需口腔治疗、近3年内曾就诊牙医。
研究结论：结果表明，巴西东北部成年人群的自我感知口腔健康状况，与多维度的影响因素结构直接相关。不佳的经济状况联合不良的临床口腔健康状态，会对该群体的自我感知口腔健康状况产生显著负面影响。