Edentulism and other variables associated with self-reported health status in Mexican adults.
BACKGROUND
To determine if edentulism, controlling for other known factors, is associated with subjective self-report health status (SRH) in Mexican adults.


METHODS
We examined the SRH of 13 966 individuals 35 years and older, using data from the National Survey of Performance Assessment, a cross-sectional study that is part of the technical collaboration between the Ministry of Health of Mexico and the World Health Organization, which used the survey instrument and sampling strategies developed by WHO for the World Health Survey. Sociodemographic, socioeconomic, medical, and behavioral variables were collected using questionnaires. Self-reported health was our dependent variable. Data on edentulism were available from 20 of the 32 Mexican states. A polynomial logistic regression model adjusted for complex sampling was generated.


RESULTS
In the SRH, 58.2% reported their health status as very good/good, 33.8% said they had a moderate health status, and 8.0% reported that their health was bad/very bad. The association between edentulism and SRH was modified by age and was significant only for bad/very bad SRH. Higher odds of reporting moderate health or poor/very poor health were found in women, people with lower socio-economic status and with physical disabilities, those who were not physically active, or those who were underweight or obese, those who had any chronic disease, and those who used alcohol.


CONCLUSIONS
The association of edentulism with a self-report of a poor health status (poor/very poor) was higher in young people than in adults. The results suggest socioeconomic inequalities in SRH. Inequality was further confirmed among people who had a general health condition or a disability. Dentists and health care professionals need to recognize the effect of edentulism on quality of life among elders people.
Academic Area of Dentistry of Health Sciences Institute, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Pachuca, Mexico.
Carlo Eduardo
CE
Medina-Solís
Academic Area of Dentistry of Health Sciences Institute, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Pachuca, Mexico.
América Patricia
AP
Pontigo-Loyola
Research Centre in Medical and Biological Sciences, School of Medicine and Surgery, Autonomous University "Benito Juarez" of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Eduardo
E
Pérez-Campos
Research Centre in Medical and Biological Sciences, School of Medicine and Surgery, Autonomous University "Benito Juarez" of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Pedro
P
Hernández-Cruz
Health Systems Research Centre, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Leticia
L
Avila-Burgos
Academic Area of Dentistry of Health Sciences Institute, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Pachuca, Mexico.
Martha
M
Mendoza-Rodríguez
School of Dentistry, Indiana University / Purdue University at Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Mexico.
Gerardo
G
Maupomé
D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors