Knowledge of the Relationships between Oral Health, Diabetes, Body Mass Index and Lifestyle among Students at the Kuwait University Health Sciences Center, Kuwait

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the level of knowledge regarding the relationships between oral health, diabetes, body mass index (BMI; obesity) and lifestyle among students of the Health Sciences Center (HSC), Kuwait, and to explore any possible correlation between students' oral health knowledge, BMI and lifestyle choices. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A stratified random sample was proportionally selected according to the size of each faculty from the 1,799 students. The questionnaire was divided into 3 sections (i.e. demographics, evaluation of oral health knowledge in relation to diabetes, and evaluation of diabetes knowledge in relation to lifestyle) and distributed to 532 students. Oral health knowledge was categorized as limited, reasonable or knowledgeable. Lifestyle was classified as healthy or nonhealthy. The BMI was calculated as weight (kg) divided by the square of the height (m). ANOVA and χ(2) tests were used to test for differences between independent variables. A Pearson correlation coefficient test was used to assess correlations. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 532 questionnaires, 498 (93.6%) were completed. The mean knowledge score was 47.7 ± 25.2; of the 498 students, 235 (47.3%) had a BMI within the normal range, 184 (37.0%) were pre-obese and 67 (13.5%) were obese. Of the 498 students, 244 (49%) had a healthy lifestyle. There was no correlation between oral health knowledge and the other variables; however, there was a correlation between lifestyle and obesity. CONCLUSION: In this study, the majority of the students had limited knowledge of oral health in association with diabetes and lifestyle. More than half of the students fell in the pre-obese/obese range.