Northridge ME, Yu C, Chakraborty B, Port Greenblatt A, Mark J, Golembeski C, Cheng B, Kunzel C, Metcalf SS, Marshall SE, Lamster IB. A community-based oral public health approach to promote health equity.
Am J Public Health 2015;
105 Suppl 3:S459-65. [PMID:
25905852 PMCID:
PMC4455510 DOI:
10.2105/ajph.2015.302562]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
We explored the interrelationships among diabetes, hypertension, and missing teeth among underserved racial/ethnic minority elders.
METHODS
Self-reported sociodemographic characteristics and information about health and health care were provided by community-dwelling ElderSmile participants, aged 50 years and older, who took part in community-based oral health education and completed a screening questionnaire at senior centers in Manhattan, New York, from 2010 to 2012.
RESULTS
Multivariable models (both binary and ordinal logistic regression) were consistent, in that both older age and Medicaid coverage were important covariates when self-reported diabetes and self-reported hypertension were included, along with an interaction term between self-reported diabetes and self-reported hypertension.
CONCLUSIONS
An oral public health approach conceptualized as the intersection of 3 domains-dentistry, medicine, and public health-might prove useful in place-based assessment and delivery of services to underserved older adults. Further, an ordinal logit model that considers levels of missing teeth might allow for more informative and interpretable results than a binary logit model.
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