Sociodemographic, Clinical, and Laboratory Parameters Related with Presence of Regular Toothbrushing in Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Regular toothbrushing (TB) has been shown to be related with better oral health. Studies have shown that various sociodemographic and clinical factors were related with regular TB in general population with normal renal function. However, no study had analyzed the factors related with regular TB in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: The laboratory parameters, depressive symptoms, health-related quality of life, sleep quality, and cognitive function were measured for all patients. Self-reported TB frequency was determined from all patients. Results: The frequency of patients TB were as follows: More than once a day (n = 20), once a day (n = 39), 2–5 times a week (n = 7), at most once a week (n = 16), at most once at 15 days (n = 21), at most once a month (n = 24), and never brushers (n = 8). Patients were dichotomized mainly into two groups: Group 1 was composed of 59 patients with regular TB (sum of patients with TB more than once a day and once a day) and Group 2 was composed of other 76 patients with irregular TB. In most of the domains of short form 36 (SF-36), cognitive function was higher, whereas depressive symptoms were lower in Group 1 patients when compared with Group 2 patients. Backward logistic regression analysis demonstrated that lower depression scores, lower high-sensitive C-reactive protein levels, higher cognitive function, and being middle school graduate or higher were independently related with regular TB. Conclusion: Regular TB is relatively low in HD patients. Preventive measures should be taken to improve regular TB in HD patients.