Physical activity, BMI and oral health behaviour among adolescents: Finnish School Health Promotion Study

To assess associations between oral health behaviour and physical activity and related factors among adolescents.\nThe study population (n = 76 529) consisted of a representative sample of 16- to 18-year-old Finnish adolescents (boys: 37 211, girls: 39 318). An anonymous, confidential and voluntary classroom-administered questionnaire included questions about tooth brushing frequency, physical activity, BMI and eating habits. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was used to assess the adolescents' physical activity. The chi-square test and multiple binary logistic regression were used for statistical analyses. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for MVPA, BMI, breakfast, smoking and socioeconomic factors as parents' education and school type.\nThe prevalence of twice daily tooth brushing was highest among adolescents reporting 4 hours or more of MVPA (51-77%). Obese and smoking adolescents exercised less often than normal weighted and non-smokers. Girls brushed their teeth twice daily significantly more often than boys (P < 0.001), and high-school students brushed their teeth significantly more often than vocational school students (P < 0.001). Logistic regression models showed that obesity (OR = 2.14, 95% CI 1.92-2.37) and irregular breakfast eating (OR = 2.35, 95% CI 2.19-2.52) among boys, and obesity (OR = 2.81, 95% CI 2.48-3.17), physical inactivity (OR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.78-2.00) and irregular breakfast eating (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.79-2.04) among girls were strong predictors for poor tooth brushing.\nPhysically active adolescents had better oral health behaviour than less active adolescents. Obesity and smoking were associated with infrequent tooth brushing.\nBackground\nMethods\nResults\nConclusion

Body mass index and dental caries in children and adolescents : a systematic review of literature published 2004 to 2011

The objectiveThe authors undertook an updated systematic review of the relationship between body mass index and dental caries in children and adolescents.MethodThe authors searched Medline, ISI, Cochrane, Scopus, Global Health and CINAHL databases and conducted lateral searches from reference lists for papers published from 2004 to 2011, inclusive. All empirical papers that tested associations between body mass index and dental caries in child and adolescent populations (aged 0 to 18 years) were included.ResultsDental caries is associated with both high and low body mass index.ConclusionA non-linear association between body mass index and dental caries may account for inconsistent findings in previous research. We recommend future research investigate the nature of the association between body mass index and dental caries in samples that include a full range of body mass index scores, and explore how factors such as socioeconomic status mediate the association between body mass index and dental caries.<br /

Tobacco use and caries risk among adolescents - a longitudinal study in Sweden

Background: Smoking and the use of smokeless tobacco have a detrimental impact on general and oral health. The relationship to dental caries is however still unclear. As caries is a multi-factorial disease with clear life-style, socio-economic and socio-demographic gradients, the tobacco use may be a co-variable in this complex rather than a direct etiological factor. Our aim was to analyze the impact of tobacco use on caries incidence among adolescents, with consideration to socio-economic variables by residency, using epidemiological data from a longitudinal study in the region of Halland, Sweden. Methods: The study population consisted of 10,068 adolescents between 16-19 years of age from whom yearly data on caries and tobacco use (cigarette smoking and use of smokeless tobacco) were obtained during the period 2006-2012. Reported DMFS increment between 16 and 19 years of age (Delta DMFS) for an individual was considered as the primary caries outcome. The outcome data were compared for self-reported never vs. ever users of tobacco, with consideration to neighborhood-level socio-economy (4 strata), baseline (i.e., 16 years of age) DMFS and sex. The region consists of 65 parishes with various socio-economic conditions and each study individual was geo-coded with respect to his/her residence parish. Neighborhood (parish-level) socio-economy was assessed by proportion of residing families with low household purchasing power. Results:Delta DMFS differed evidently between ever and never users of tobacco (mean values: 1.8 vs. 1.2; proportion with Delta DMFS > 0: 54.2% vs. 40.5%; p < 0.0001). Significant differences were observed in each neighborhood-level socio-economic stratum. Even after controlling for baseline DMFS and sex, Delta DMFS differed highly significantly between the ever and never users of tobacco (overall p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Tobacco use was clearly associated with increased caries increment during adolescence. Hence, this factor is relevant to consider in the clinical caries risk assessment of the individual patient as well as for community health plans dealing with oral health

Age-related changes in relative expression stability of commonly used housekeeping genes in selected porcine tissues

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene expression analysis using real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) is increasingly important in biological research due to the high-throughput and accuracy of qRT-PCR. For accurate and reliable gene expression analysis, normalization of gene expression data against housekeeping genes or internal control genes is required. The stability of reference genes has a tremendous effect on the results of relative quantification of gene expression by qRT-PCR. The expression stability of reference genes could vary according to tissues, age of individuals and experimental conditions. In the pig however, very little information is available on the expression stability of reference genes. The aim of this research was therefore to develop a new set of reference genes which can be used for normalization of mRNA expression data of genes expressed in varieties of porcine tissues at different ages.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mRNA expression stability of nine commonly used reference genes (<it>B2M, BLM, GAPDH, HPRT1, PPIA, RPL4, SDHA, TBP </it>and <it>YWHAZ</it>) was determined in varieties of tissues collected from newborn, young and adult pigs. geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper software were used to rank the genes according to their stability. geNorm software revealed that <it>RPL4, PPIA </it>and <it>YWHAZ </it>showed high stability in newborn and adult pigs, while <it>B2M, YWHAZ </it>and <it>SDHA </it>showed high stability in young pigs. In all cases, <it>GAPDH </it>showed the least stability in geNorm. NormFinder revealed that <it>TBP </it>was the most stable gene in newborn and young pigs, while <it>PPIA </it>was most stable in adult pigs. Moreover, geNorm software suggested that the geometric mean of three most stable gene would be the suitable combination for accurate normalization of gene expression study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although, there was discrepancy in the ranking order of reference genes obtained by different analysing software methods, the geometric mean of the <it>RPL4, PPIA </it>and <it>YWHAZ </it>seems to be the most appropriate combination of housekeeping genes for accurate normalization of gene expression data in different porcine tissues at different ages.</p

Obesity and dental caries: systematic review

OBJECTIVE Identifying, through a systematic literature review, evidence of a possible association between obesity and dental caries. METHODS A search of articles published between 2005 and January 2012 was performed in the Medline/PubMed, LILACS and Web of Science databases. The quality of scientific evidence of the selected articles was assessed by the items proposed for observational studies in the Downs & Black instrument. RESULTS Initially, 537 references were found; after checking the titles and abstracts by two independent researchers, twenty-eight articles were selected for complete reading. Ten of them that assessed the primary and/or permanent dentition observed a positive association between obesity and dental caries and one study found an inverse association. According to the Downs & Black classification, thirteen articles with good scientific evidence were found. CONCLUSIONS The present review did not find sufficient evidence regarding the association between obesity and dental caries, and it did not clarify the possible role of diet and other possible effect modifiers on this association.Alexandre Emidio Ribeiro Silva, Ana Maria Baptista Menezes, Flávio Fernando Demarco, Fabiana Vargas-Ferreira, Marco Aurélio Pere