R. Croucher et al., THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE-EVENTS AND PERIODONTITIS - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY, Journal of clinical periodontology, 24(1), 1997, pp. 39-43
This case-control study (n=100 dental patients, matched for age and se
x) investigated the role of life-events in periodontitis. Data collect
ed included life events, tobacco use, oral health behaviours and socio
-demographics. The results of conditional simple logistic regression a
nalysis showed that periodontitis was associated with the negative imp
act of life-events (p<0.01), the number of negative life-events (p<0.0
5), high levels of dental plaque (p<0.01), tobacco smoking (p<0.01) an
d being unemployed (p<0.05). These associations remained statistically
significant after adjusting for oral health behaviour and socio-demog
raphic variables, but not tobacco smoking (p>0.05). Marital status bec
ame statistically significant after adjusting for the other variables
(p<0.05). A model is suggested to explain the pathways through which l
ife events may affect periodontal health, It was concluded that psycho
social factors and oral health risk behaviours cluster together as imp
ortant determinants of periodontitis.