title: Toothbrushing in relation to other health habits in Finland.
abstract: The dimensionality of health behavior is disputable. In the present study an effort was made to shed more light on this problem. Interview data were obtained from 3209 13--19-year-old Finnish adolescents concerning the subjects' smoking habits, use of alcohol, physical activity, toothbrushing and dietary habits. A clear positive relationship was observed between toothbrushing and the use of sugar-containing snacks. Use of alcohol seemed to have slight adverse effect on toothbrushing. Smoking was also weakly related with sporadic toothbrushing. Sports-oriented girls seemed to be regular toothbrushers. It was concluded that the possible comprehensive nature of health behavior should be more appreciated.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012907:Smoking; D014099:Toothbrushing