Oral health behavior as a risk factor for high urinary sodium among Korean women

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between urinary sodium, urinary sodium/creatinine, and urinary sodium/urine specific gravity and oral health behavior using nationally representative data.

Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used; the sample analyzed in this study consisted a total of 15,013 respondents over 19 years old who had no missing values for the urinalysis or outcome variables. Urinary sodium was significantly lower in fem ales (p<0.05).

The rate of hypertension and diabetes was significantly lower in women (p<0.05). Adjusted odds ratios of urinary sodium and their 95% confidence intervals in relation to the frequency of tooth brushing (≤1, 2, and ≥3 times per day, respectively) were 1, 0.898 (0.704, 1.145), and 0.734 (0.573, 0.939) for women (p<0.05). This association between sodium uptake and oral health behavior was independent of various potential confounding factors such as age, body mass index, smoking, drinking, exercise, diabetes, and hypertension.

Poor oral health behavior was associated with higher sodium consumption in women. Oral health behavior may be considered an independent risk indicator for high urinary sodium in Korean women.