Relationship between Risk Factors Related to Eating Disorders and Subjective Health and Oral Health

Abstract

This study examined the factors related to eating disorders (ED) and the relationship between ED and subjective health or subjective oral health in adolescents. The 46,146 adolescents (age 12–18 years) who participated in the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey were selected, including those who had attempted to lose weight within the past 30 days during the survey period. The variables included were eating behavior, BMI, body image subjective health, and subjective oral health. The weight-loss method was divided into two groups (regular exercise, RE, and eating disorder, ED). The data were analyzed using the Rao-Scott χ2 test and logistic regression analysis. The adolescents with an obese body image had a lower risk of ED (OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.38–1.49) than adolescents with a very thin body image. Adolescents with ED had a higher risk of a poor subjective health assessment (OR = 2.32, 95% CI 1.85–2.91). On the other hand, they had a lower risk of a poor subjective oral health assessment (OR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.71–1.12). ED is closely associated with eating behavior, BMI, body image, oral health behavior, subjective health, and subjective oral health in Korean adolescents.