OBJECTIVES: We examined prospective associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) markers and oral health outcomes in a national sample of older adults in England. METHODS: Data were from the English Longitudinal Survey of Aging, a national cohort study of community-dwelling people aged 50 years and older. SEP markers (education, occupation, household income, household wealth, subjective social status, and childhood SEP) and sociodemographic confounders (age, gender, and marital status) were from wave 1. We collected 3 self-reported oral health outcomes at wave 3: having natural teeth (dentate vs edentate), self-rated oral health, and oral impacts on daily life. Using multivariate logistic regression models, we estimated associations between each SEP indicator and each oral health outcome, adjusted for confounders. RESULTS: Irrespective of SEP marker, there were inverse graded associations between SEP and edentulousness, with proportionately more edentate participants at each lower SEP level. Lower SEP was also associated with worse self-rated oral health and oral impacts among dentate, but not among edentate, participants. CONCLUSIONS: There are consistent and clear social gradients in the oral health of older adults in England, with disparities evident throughout the SEP hierarchy.
OBJECTIVES: We examined prospective associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) markers and oral health outcomes in a national sample of older adults in England. METHODS: Data were from the English Longitudinal Survey of Aging, a national cohort study of community-dwelling people aged 50 years and older. SEP markers (education, occupation, household income, household wealth, subjective social status, and childhood SEP) and sociodemographic confounders (age, gender, and marital status) were from wave 1. We collected 3 self-reported oral health outcomes at wave 3: having natural teeth (dentate vs edentate), self-rated oral health, and oral impacts on daily life. Using multivariate logistic regression models, we estimated associations between each SEP indicator and each oral health outcome, adjusted for confounders. RESULTS: Irrespective of SEP marker, there were inverse graded associations between SEP and edentulousness, with proportionately more edentate participants at each lower SEP level. Lower SEP was also associated with worse self-rated oral health and oral impacts among dentate, but not among edentate, participants. CONCLUSIONS: There are consistent and clear social gradients in the oral health of older adults in England, with disparities evident throughout the SEP hierarchy.
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Authors: Sheena E Ramsay; Efstathios Papachristou; Richard G Watt; Lucy T Lennon; A Olia Papacosta; Peter H Whincup; S Goya Wannamethee Journal: J Public Health (Oxf) Date: 2018-12-01 Impact factor: 2.341
Authors: Georgios Tsakos; Paul R Brocklehurst; Sinead Watson; Anna Verey; Nia Goulden; Alison Jenkins; Zoe Hoare; Kirstie Pye; Rebecca R Wassall; Andrea Sherriff; Anja Heilmann; Ciaran O'Neill; Craig J Smith; Joe Langley; Renato Venturelli; Peter Cairns; Nat Lievesley; Richard G Watt; Frank Kee; Gerald McKenna Journal: Pilot Feasibility Stud Date: 2021-07-02