Substance use and periodontal disease among Australian Aboriginal young adults.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and petrol sniffing on periodontal disease among Australian Aboriginal young adults.


METHODS
Cross-sectional nested within a long-standing prospective longitudinal study. Setting Aboriginal communities in Australia's Northern Territory.


METHODS
Members of the Aboriginal Birth Cohort study who were recruited from birth between January 1987 and March 1990 at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia. Data were from wave III, when the mean age of participants was 18 years.


METHODS
Clinical dental examination and self-report questionnaire.


RESULTS
Of 425 participants with complete data, 26.6% had moderate/severe periodontal disease. There was elevated risk of periodontal disease associated with tobacco [prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.06-2.40], marijuana (PR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.05-1.97) and petrol sniffing (PR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.08-3.11), but not alcohol (PR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.67-1.27). Stratified analysis showed that the effect of marijuana persisted among tobacco users (PR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.03-2.11). It was not possible to isolate an independent effect of petrol sniffing because all petrol sniffers used both marijuana and tobacco, although among smokers of both substances, petrol sniffing was associated with an 11.8% increased prevalence of periodontal disease.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first time that substance use has been linked with periodontal disease in a young Australian Aboriginal adult population, and the first time that petrol sniffing has been linked with periodontal disease in any population. The role of substance use in periodontal disease among this, and other, marginalized groups warrants further investigation.
Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health, The University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. lisa.jamieson@adelaide.edu.au
Lisa M
LM
Jamieson
Wendy
W
Gunthorpe
Sheree J
SJ
Cairney
Susan M
SM
Sayers
Kaye F
KF
Roberts-Thomson
Gary D
GD
Slade
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D015876:Northern Territory / Q000453:epidemiology; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult
D010578:Petroleum