Oral health behavior and factors associated with poor oral status in Qatar: results from a national health survey

OBJECTIVES

Oral health is a crucial determinant of quality of life. We aimed to determine oral health condition and factors associated with poor oral status in the adult national population of Qatar.

METHODS

We used data from the World Health Organization supported STEPS (STEPwise approach to Surveillance) Survey conducted by the Supreme Council of Health, Qatar in 2012. A total of 2,496 Qataris (1,053 men, 1,443 women) answered the national survey. The Rao-Scott Chi-Square test was used to analyze oral health characteristics and multinomial logistic regression to assess risk factors.

RESULTS

The self-perceived oral status of approximately 40 percent of respondents was either "average" or "poor" rather than "good." Poor oral status was more often reported by women (OR = 1.93; 95%CI = 1.30-2.80), by older (OR = 3.38; 95%CI = 1.59-7.19) and less educated respondents (OR = 3.58; 95%CI = 2.15-5.96). Other risk groups included people with diabetes (OR = 1.87; 95%CI = 1.24-2.81), smokeless tobacco users (OR = 3.90; 95%CI = 1.75-8.68), or ever tobacco users (OR = 1.66; 95%CI = 1.03-2.67). Oral health status appeared to be independent of diet, BMI status, and history of hypertension. Difficulties and behaviors related to oral health were more frequently reported by women than by men. These included pain (P < 0.001), difficulty chewing (P < 0.001), and discomfort over appearance of teeth (P < 0.001). Participants used toothbrushes, toothpicks, dental floss, and miswak to maintain oral hygiene.

CONCLUSION

Our results provide evidence that oral health remains a public health concern in Qatar.

Prevalence and determinants of metabolic syndrome in Qatar: results from a National Health Survey

OBJECTIVES

To determine optimum measurements for abdominal obesity and to assess the prevalence and determinants of metabolic syndrome in Qatar.

DESIGN

National health survey.

SETTING

Qatar National STEPwise Survey conducted by the Supreme Council of Health during 2012.

PARTICIPANTS

2496 Qatari citizens aged 18-64 representative of the general population.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Measure of obesity (body mass index, waist circumference or waist-to-height ratio) that best identified the presence of at least 2 other factors of metabolic syndrome; cut-off values of waist circumference; frequency of metabolic syndrome.

RESULTS

Waist circumference ≥102 for men and ≥94 cm for women was the best predictor of the presence of other determinants of metabolic syndrome (raised blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). Using these values, we identified 28% of Qataris with metabolic syndrome, which is considerably lower than the estimate of 37% calculated using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Restricting the analysis to participants without known elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugar or diabetes 16.5% would be classified as having metabolic syndrome. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased steadily with age (OR=3.40 (95% CI 2.02 to 5.74), OR=5.66 (3.65 to 8.78), OR=10.2 (5.98 to 17.6) and OR=18.2 (7.01 to 47.5) for those in the age group '30-39', '40-49', '50-59', '60-64' vs '18-29'; p<0.0001), decreased with increasing educational attainment (OR=0.61 (0.39 to 0.96) for those who attained 'secondary school or more' compared with 'less than primary school'; p=0.03) and exercise (OR=0.60 (0.42 to 0.86) for those exercising ≥3000 vs <600 MET-min/week; p=0.006) but was not associated with smoking or diet.

CONCLUSIONS

Waist circumference was the best measure of obesity to combine with other variables to construct a country-specific definition of metabolic syndrome in Qatar. Approximately 28% of adult Qatari citizens satisfy the criteria for metabolic syndrome, which increased significantly with age. Education and physical activity were inversely associated with this syndrome.

Seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar: an observational study

BACKGROUND

In Qatar traffic injuries and fatalities are of serious concern. Mobile phone use whilst driving has been associated with increased risk of vehicular collisions and injuries. Seat belt use has been demonstrated to save lives and reduce the severity of road traffic injuries. Whereas previously published studies may have looked at all front passengers, this study aims to obtain reliable estimates of the prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar. Additionally, we aim to investigate the association of these behaviors with other variables namely gender, time of the day and type of vehicle.

METHODS

An observational study on 2,011 vehicles was conducted in 2013. Data were collected at ten sites within Doha city over a two-week period. Two trained observers surveyed each car and recorded observations on a data collection form adapted from a form used in a 2012 Oklahoma observational study. Associations were assessed using the Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. A p-value of .05 or less was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

Overall, 1,463 (72.7 %) drivers were found using a seat belt (95 % CI: 70.8-74.7 %) and 150 (7.5 %) their mobile phones (95 % CI: 6.3-8.6 %) during the observation period. Mobile phone use was significantly associated with not using a seat belt and driving a sport utility vehicle. Significantly lower rates of seat belt use were observed in the early morning and late afternoon. No gender differences were observed.

DISCUSSION

Seatbelt use in Doha was found to be similar to countries in the region but lower than those in western countries. Also, studies from other high-income locations, reported lower rates of mobile phone use while driving than in Doha.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite road traffic crashes being one of the leading causes of death in Qatar, three out of 10 drivers in Doha, Qatar, do not use a seat belt and about one in 12 use a mobile phone while driving. More efforts, in the form of awareness campaigns and increased law enforcement, are needed to improve compliance with laws requiring seat belt use and prohibiting mobile phone use while driving.