Oral health behaviors and metabolic syndrome: the 2008-2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined whether oral health behaviors are associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean adults involved in the 2008-2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES).


METHODS
A total of 18,742 subjects (8,034 men and 10,708 women) were included. MetS was defined according to the criteria of the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Scientific Statement for Asians. Oral health behavior was assessed using a questionnaire included in the KNHANES.


RESULTS
Subjects with MetS brushed their teeth less frequently and used fewer secondary oral products than subjects without MetS (p < 0.01). As frequency of toothbrushing and number of secondary oral products increased, body mass index, waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, and white blood cell count decreased, but high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol increased (all p for trend <0.01). In the multivariable logistic regression models, as frequency of toothbrushing increased, the odds ratios (ORs) for MetS, abdominal obesity, and hyperglycemia are more than one after adjusting for age, gender, education, income, alcohol and tobacco use, physical activity, and the components of MetS. The ORs for MetS, abdominal obesity, and high blood pressure were more than one in subjects who do not use dental floss after adjusting for all covariates.


CONCLUSIONS
MetS is associated with infrequent daily toothbrushing and disuse of dental floss in South Korean.


CONCLUSIONS
Dentists may recommend evaluation for MetS in the patients with infrequent daily toothbrushing and disuse of dental floss.
Department of Family Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, 126-1, 5Ka, Anam-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, South Korea, mrchir@naver.com.
Yang-Hyun
YH
Kim
Do-Hoon
DH
Kim
Kyung Sook
KS
Lim
Byung-Joon
BJ
Ko
Byung-Duck
BD
Han
Ga-Eun
GE
Nam
Yong-Gyu
YG
Park
Kyung Do
KD
Han
Jung-Hyun
JH
Kim
Kyung-Hwan
KH
Cho
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult