Clustering of health and oral health-compromising behaviours in army personnel in central peninsular Malaysia

Azil, Ahmad Asyraf and Yusof, Zamros Yuzadi Mohd and Marhazlinda, Jamaludin (2023) Clustering of health and oral health-compromising behaviours in army personnel in central peninsular Malaysia. Healthcare, 11 (5). ISSN 2227-9032, DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11050640.

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Abstract

Health- and oral health-compromising behaviours (HOHCBs) impact the health readiness of military personnel, resulting in decreased fitness performance, thus affecting combat readiness. This study aimed to identify the clustering patterns and number of HOHCBs in army personnel in Central Peninsular Malaysia. Thus, a cross-sectional study using a multistage sampling technique and a validated 42-item online questionnaire was conducted to assess ten health (medical screening, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking status, alcohol consumption, substance abuse, aggressive behaviours, sleep, and road safety habits) and five oral health behaviour domains (tooth brushing, fluoridated toothpaste use, flossing, dental visits, and bruxism). Each HOHCB was dichotomised into healthy and health-compromising behaviour and analysed using hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HACA). With the majority being males (92.5%), of other ranks (96.8%), and healthy (83.9%), 2435 army members of a mean age of 30.3 years (SD = 5.9) participated, with a response rate of 100%. HACA identified two clustering patterns: (i) `high-risk behaviours' (30 HOHCBs) and (ii) `most common risk behaviours' (12 HOHCBs) with a mean clustering number of 14.1 (SD = 4.1). In conclusion, army personnel in Central Peninsular Malaysia displayed 2 broad HOHCB clustering patterns, `high-risk' and `most common risk', with an average of 14 HOHCB clusters per person.

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: clustering behaviour; Health-compromising behaviours; Oral health-compromising behaviours; Adults; Military; Army
Subjects: R Medicine > RK Dentistry > Practice of dentistry. Dental economics
Divisions: Faculty of Dentistry
Depositing User: Ms Zaharah Ramly
Date Deposited: 26 Jun 2023 06:53
Last Modified: 26 Jun 2023 06:53
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/38481

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