IADR Abstract Archives
Psychosocial factors and transitions in oral and general health
Objectives: Objectives: Psychosocial factors may explain variance in health outcomes beyond conventional risk indicators such as health behaviours. The aim was to examine whether reported changes in oral and general health were associated with stress, social support and health-related self-efficacy after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and health behaviour.
Methods: Methods: A random sample of 45-54 year-olds from Adelaide, South Australia, was surveyed by self-complete questionnaire in 2004-05, with a follow-up questionnaire 2 years later. The main outcomes were self-reported changes in oral and general health over the past 2 years. Explanatory variables included income, education, gender, health behaviour (tooth brushing and smoking), stress (distress subscale of the perceived stress scale), social support (multidimensional scale of perceived social support MSPSS) and health self-efficacy as measured by the perceived health competence (PHC) scale,
Results: Results: Responses were collected from n=879 participants (response rate=43.8%). Over the 2-year period 25.6% reported a worsening in oral health, and 15.3% in general health. Prevalence ratios from log-binomial regression analysis adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviour showed an inverse relationship between worsening oral health and higher social support (PR=0.72, 0.54-0.98) and higher perceived health competence (PR=0.65, 0.46-0.91), and worsening general health was related to perceived health competence (PR=0.40, 0.25-0.63) and stress (PR=1.86, 1.18-2.92).
Conclusions: Conclusions: Health-related self-efficacy represented psychosocial aspects of resilience to worsening oral and general health, while stress was associated with worsening general health. Psychosocial factors were important independent predictors of change in health after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours.
Methods: Methods: A random sample of 45-54 year-olds from Adelaide, South Australia, was surveyed by self-complete questionnaire in 2004-05, with a follow-up questionnaire 2 years later. The main outcomes were self-reported changes in oral and general health over the past 2 years. Explanatory variables included income, education, gender, health behaviour (tooth brushing and smoking), stress (distress subscale of the perceived stress scale), social support (multidimensional scale of perceived social support MSPSS) and health self-efficacy as measured by the perceived health competence (PHC) scale,
Results: Results: Responses were collected from n=879 participants (response rate=43.8%). Over the 2-year period 25.6% reported a worsening in oral health, and 15.3% in general health. Prevalence ratios from log-binomial regression analysis adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviour showed an inverse relationship between worsening oral health and higher social support (PR=0.72, 0.54-0.98) and higher perceived health competence (PR=0.65, 0.46-0.91), and worsening general health was related to perceived health competence (PR=0.40, 0.25-0.63) and stress (PR=1.86, 1.18-2.92).
Conclusions: Conclusions: Health-related self-efficacy represented psychosocial aspects of resilience to worsening oral and general health, while stress was associated with worsening general health. Psychosocial factors were important independent predictors of change in health after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours.