The association between oral health literacy and oral health behaviors in North Korean defectors: a cross-sectional study

Cho, Han-A; Im, Ae-Jung; Sim, Yu-Ri; Jang, Han-Byoel; Lim, Hee-Jung

doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08550-7

Table 5 Multivariable linear regression analysis investigating oral health behavior as a function of oral health literacy, which comprises verbal and functional oral health literacy

From: The association between oral health literacy and oral health behaviors in North Korean defectors: a cross-sectional study

	Oral health behaviors
	^aModel 1		^bModel 2
	Beta (95%CI)	P	Beta (95%CI)	P
Verbal oral health literacy	0.13 (− 0.06; 0.37)	0.15
Functional oral health literacy	0.20 (0.01; 0.43)	0.04^*
Oral health literacy (Verbal oral health literacy + Functional oral health literacy)			0.26 (0.04; 0.33)	0.01^*
Sex (Ref. Male)
Female	0.03 (− 2.96; 4.23)	0.73	0.03 (− 2.94; 4.21)	0.73
Age (Ref. 19–39)
40–59	− 0.08 (−5.09; 2.20)	0.43	− 0.08 (− 5.07; 2.18)	0.43
60–80	0.11 (− 2.76; 9.18)	0.29	0.11 (− 2.85; 8.86)	0.31
Education (Ref. ≤ Primary school)
Middle school	0.17 (− 0.92; 9.52)	0.11	0.17 (− 0.87; 9.53)	0.10
High school	0.10 (− 2.90; 6.79)	0.43	0.10 (− 2.89; 6.76)	0.43
≥College	0.04 (−4.56; 6.67)	0.71	0.05 (− 4.49; 6.68)	0.70
Income [Units: 10,000 KRW] (Ref. ≤ 99)
100–199	0.00 (−3.64; 3.68)	0.99	−0.00 (− 3.66; 3.62)	0.99
≥200	0.14 (− 1.52; 9.03)	0.16	0.14 (− 1.49; 9.02)	0.16
Occupation (Ref. Yes)
No	0.06 (−2.21; 4.65)	0.48	0.06 (−2.21; 4.62)	0.49
Marital status (Ref. Single)
Married	−0.01 (−3.80; 3.47)	0.93	− 0.01 (− 3.73; 3.49)	0.95
Years living in South Korea (Ref. < 7 years)
≥7 years	− 0.11 (−5.14; 1.11)	0.20	− 0.11 (− 5.13; 1.09)	0.20
Number of diseases (Ref. 0)
1	−0.05 (− 4.81; 2.65)	0.57	− 0.05 (− 4.80; 2.63)	0.56
2	− 0.09 (−6.95; 2.12)	0.29	− 0.09 (− 6.93; 2.10)	0.29
≤ 3	− 0.11 (−7.40; 1.92)	0.25	− 0.11 (− 7.29; 1.96)	0.26
Private insurance (Ref. Yes)
No	− 0.10 (− 4.94; 1.18)	0.23	−0.10 (− 4.98; 1.01)	0.19
Perceived oral health status (Ref. Good)
Normal	−0.15 (−8.03; 2.09)	0.25	− 0.15 (− 7.85; 2.15)	0.26
Poor	− 0.19 (− 8.80; 1.62)	0.18	− 0.18 (− 8.55; 1.70)	0.19
Interest in perceived oral health status (Ref. Good)
Normal	− 0.09 (− 5.11; 1.41)	0.26	− 0.09 (− 5.13; 1.35)	0.25
Poor	− 0.26 (− 12.44; − 1.29)	0.02^*	−0.27 (− 12.51; − 1.50)	0.01^*
Tooth brushing (Ref. 1)
2	0.24 (− 0.67; 10.24)	0.09	0.25 (− 0.32; 10.32)	0.07
≤ 3	0.18 (−2.09; 9.02)	0.22	0.18 (−1.97; 9.06)	0.21
Use of dental products (Ref. 1)
2	0.11 (− 4.31; 8.49)	0.52	0.11 (−4.28; 8.47)	0.52
≤ 3	0.31 (− 0.80; 13.01)	0.08	0.32 (− 0.63; 13.07)	0.08
Dental care utilization (Ref. Yes)
No	− 0.15 (− 5.87; 0.17)	0.06	− 0.15 (− 5.83; 0.18)	0.07

The results were derived using the standardized regression coefficient—beta—to compare the magnitudes of the impact of oral health literacy (composed of verbal and functional oral health literacy), verbal oral health literacy, and functional oral health literacy
Abbreviations: CI confidence interval, Ref reference group
^*P < 0.05
^aModel 1 and ^bModel 2 adjusted for sex, age, education, income, occupation, marital status, years living in South Korea, number of diseases, private insurance membership, perceived oral health status, interest in perceived oral health status, tooth brushing, use of dental products, and dental care utilization
^aModel 1 identifies the effects of verbal oral health literacy and functional oral health literacy after the confounding variables have been adjusted for
^bModel 2 identifies the effects of oral health literacy itself, which combines verbal oral health literacy and functional oral health literacy, after the confounding variables have been adjusted for

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ISSN: 1471-2458

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