Comparative study of lifestyle-related risk factors of periodontal disease among urban and rural population of India

Aim: To compare participants’ lifestyle-related risk factors for periodontal disease between urban and rural population. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study consisting of a structured questionnaire on health practice index (HPI), oral health-related behavior, and personal habits as well as sociodemographic variables was conducted on 800 subjects aged 20 to 50 years attending dental outreach centers of Manipal College of Dental Sciences in urban and rural areas of Udupi District. Clinical examination for periodontal status was done by using community periodontal index, simplified oral hygiene index, and gingival index. Statistical analysis of the data was done using chi-square. Results: It was found that except the number of hours of work/day (p = 0.02) urban participants had significantly better occupations, higher education, more income, better oral health care behaviors like dental visits, device of cleaning, frequency of cleaning, method of cleaning, healthier personal habits like tobacco chewing, pan chewing (< 0.001 respectively), physical exercise, mental stress levels and healthier overall lifestyles (p < 0.001 respectively) than the rural participants. It was also found that more number of urban participants had better oral hygiene status (p < 0.001), gingival status (p < 0.001), and healthier periodontium (p = 0.002) than the rural counterparts. Conclusion: These findings suggest that rural participants had more lifestyle-related risk factors for periodontitis as well as less healthy periodontium than the urban participants. Patient’s involvement in self-care by promoting healthy lifestyles is needed especially in rural areas where adequate treatment facilities are lacking.