General and dental health in relation to life-style and social network activity among 67-year-old Danes.

The present study was performed in order to plan and evaluate dental health care for a cohort of 67-year-olds in a Danish municipality. The purpose was to study general and dental health and the effect of life-style and social network relations. A total of 216 persons (71% of the persons selected) were interviewed in 1987; measurement of life-style was based on information about how often the respondents participated in social, cultural, and spare time activities. Family network activity was measured from information on the frequency of contact with family members, while data about relations with friends and neighbours were intended to measure the quality of contact. Moreover, the participants were asked about the presence of various symptoms of ill health, regular use of drugs, and dental symptoms. Additive indices on lifestyle and social networks were constructed. Symptoms were frequent among less active people; e.g. 36% of the participants with very low activity reported at least five complaints of ill health against 10% in the group with an active lifestyle. Among less active persons, 51% were edentulous, against 34% among active persons. Most symptoms of ill health occurred relatively often among persons with weak social networks. Ill health seems to be related to a passive lifestyle and non-supportive social network.