scholarly journals Dietary Habits and Anthropometric Measures of a Dental Student Population

Author(s):  
Ah Reum Yoo ◽  
Philip Hyunbae Son ◽  
Karl Kingsley ◽  
Joshua M. Polanski

Introduction: Health professionals are expected to understand the relationship between diet and nutrition and overall health. Many relationships between oral health and diet and nutrition are known to contribute to health or disease development. However, few studies to date have evaluated the current dietary habits and behaviors of dental students in the United States. The objective of this study was to complete a longitudinal study of diet and exercise behaviors among dental students during their academic experience at UNLV SDM. Methods: Using and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved protocol, students in four dental cohorts were asked to take a survey regarding their dietary behaviors, nutrition intake and exercise. A total of n=302/327 students participated, yielding an overall response rate of 92.3%. Self reported age, ethnicity and body mass index (BMI) were also collected. Results: A total of n=302 students completed the survey, for an overall response rate of 92.3% (n=302/327). Males represented 57.9% of respondents, which closely matched the overall percentage of males among the student population overall (56%, P=0.6870), while the percentage of minority respondents in the study sample (58.9%) was slightly higher than in the overall student population (51.6%, P=0.1095). Self-reported height and weight were higher among males (as expected) – although body mass index (BMI) measuring the ratio of height-to-weight was lower for females (24.53 +/- 4.65) than males (26.15 +/- 3.84), P=0.3711. To determine if dietary factors may account for these differences both positive dietary health behaviors (fruit and salad consumption) and negative health behaviors (processed snacks and sugar sweetened beverages) were assessed. Females reported higher consumption of fruits and salads (P=0.0131) and lower consumption of processed foods and snacks (P=0.0114) than males. However, analysis of exercise found that males reported more sessions of physical activity per week than females (P=0.023) and also reported more overall minutes of vigorous exercise (P=0.002). Conclusion:  Although many populations face significant dietary and related behavioral challenges, medical and dental students face particular stress and time-limited challenges that may negatively influence positive health outcomes.  In addition, the perceived clinical relevance of nutrition education may impact future dietary and nutrition-related discussions and provider recommendations. This is among the first dietary studies of self-reported dental student dietary patterns and health behaviors, which demonstrates areas for education and improvement may be needed to increase student wellness, overall health and well-being - as well as targeted points for clinical education that might increase the perceived relevance of dietary and nutrition education.

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1154-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Ruengkhachorn ◽  
Chairat Leelaphatanadit ◽  
Suwanit Therasakvichya ◽  
Saowalak Hunnangkul

ObjectivesTo determine response rate and survival outcomes of chemotherapeutic treatment in stage IVB, persistent, or recurrent cervical carcinoma patients.MethodsMedical records of stage IVB or persistent or recurrent cervical carcinoma patients who received chemotherapy from January 2006 to December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma and patients who received only 1 cycle of chemotherapy were excluded. The demographic data, tumor characteristics, chemotherapeutic agents, and response rate were reported. Factors associated with overall response rate from the first-round chemotherapeutic treatment were analyzed using χ2 test. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were used for survival analysis.ResultsOf 286 cervical carcinoma patients, 47 patients had stage IVB and 239 patients had persistent or recurrent disease. One hundred sixty-nine patients (59.1%) had squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A majority of disease sites (38.8%) had both local and distant metastases. Overall response rate for first-round chemotherapeutic treatment was 37.8%, with 23.1% of patients having a complete response and 14.7% of patients having a partial response. Regarding disease response, 32.2% of patients had stable disease and 30% had disease progression. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for first-round chemotherapeutic treatment were 11.6 (range, 0.7–108.3) months and 5.6 (range, 0.7–102.2) months, respectively. Patients with distant metastasis had a shorter OS duration with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.09 to 2.90; P = 0.02. Patients with a body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or more had a longer PFS duration than those with a normal body mass index (adjusted HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55–0.94; P = 0.018). Patients with non-SCC had a longer PFS duration than that of patients with SCC (adjusted HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60–0.99; P = 0.041).ConclusionsResponse rates, median PFS, and median OS of cervical cancer patients treated by chemotherapy in our center were rather high when compared with those of previous gynecologic oncology group studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 899-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamran Habib Awan ◽  
Syed R Habib ◽  
Sakhar Alghofaily ◽  
Hussam Alshamrani ◽  
Abdullah Alhammad

ABSTRACT Introduction The objective of the study was to investigate the prevalence of overweight issues and obesity by recording the body mass index (BMI) and explore the dietary habits, physical activities (PAs), and lifestyles of male students at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University. Materials and methods A custom-designed self-administrative form and questionnaire were used in this study for data collection. The first part of the form was used to record the participants’ height and weight for the BMI. The participants were grouped as underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal weight (BMI = 18.5–24.9), overweight (BMI = 25–29.9), and obese (BMI > 30.0). The second part comprised questions related to the dietary habits, PAs, and lifestyles of the male dental students. Chi-squared test was used to generate the significance of each question at significance <0.05. Results A total of 211 male students (mean age 22.31 ± 2.10 years) participated in the study (response rate 78.1%). The findings revealed that 29 and 28% of the dental students were overweight and obese respectively. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the groups was found for the questions asked about time spent exercising per day (p = 0.003), time spent sporting per week (p = 0.003), and time spent watching television and internet surfing per day (p = 0.012). Conclusion The prevalence of overweight issues and obesity is high among the dental students compared with the general population of Saudi Arabia, and there is a need for intervention programs to combat obesity among the dental students. The awareness about PA, healthy diet/lifestyle, consequences of overweight and obesity on their health and profession must be increased among the dental students to avoid future complications. Clinical significance The impact of obesity on individuals’ oral health and its influence on dental treatment protocols and postoperative procedures has been well documented. Dental students are more prone to obesity due to their lifestyle with less PA and disordered eating habits and, thereby, are prone to obesity-related health hazards. How to cite this article Habib SR, Alghofaily S, Alshamrani H, Alhammad A, Awan KH. Relationship of Body Mass Index with Diet, Physical Activities, and Lifestyles of Dental Students. J Contemp Dent Pract 2017;18(10):899-904.


Author(s):  
C.-Y. Lee ◽  
Y. Sun ◽  
H.-J. Lee ◽  
T.-F. Chen ◽  
P.-N. Wang ◽  
...  

Background: Evidence of the associations of dietary habits and body mass index with dementia is inconsistent and limited in East Asian countries. Objective: We aim to explore the associations of dietary habits and body mass index with the odds of dementia. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Setting: A nationwide, population-based, door-to-door, in-person survey. Participants: Selected by computerized random sampling from all 19 counties in Taiwan. Measurement: Diagnosis of dementia using the criteria recommended by the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association. Lifestyle factors, dietary habits and demographic data were compared between normal subjects and participants with dementia. Results: A total of 10432 residents were assessed, among whom 2049 were classified as having a mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 929 were diagnosed with dementia, and 7035 were without dementia or MCI. After adjustment for age, gender, education, body mass index (BMI), dietary habits, habitual exercises and co-morbidities, including hypertension, diabetes and cerebrovascular diseases, we found inverse associations of dementia with the consumption of fish (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.41-0.94), vegetables (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.13-0.95), coffee (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.35-0.97), green tea (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.34-0.75) and other types of tea (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.28-0.60). There was no association between dementia and fruit consumption. Compared with people who had a normal BMI (18 < BMI <= 24), older overweight people (24 < BMI <=30) had a reduced risk of dementia with an adjusted OR of 0.77 (95% CI 0.61-0.96). Conclusions: Our study provides preliminary evidence that suggests that the consumption of fish, vegetables, tea, and coffee has potential benefits against dementia in East Asian population. Being modestly overweight (nadir risk at BMI = 25) in late life was associated with decreased odds of dementia. The benefit of fruits may be offset by their high sugar content.


2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (5S) ◽  
pp. 391
Author(s):  
Glen E. Duncan ◽  
Ally Avery ◽  
Philip M. Hurvitz ◽  
Anne Vernez-Moudon ◽  
Siny Tsang ◽  
...  

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