Salud bucal relacionada con las condiciones de trabajo, hábitos de higiene y atención en salud en trabajadores con empleos de subsistencia de Medellín (Colombia). Estudio Descriptivo

BACKGROUND: Recording the relationship between oral health conditions, habits, access and use of health services, sociodemographic and labor conditions in informal workers, provides evidence to design and implement public policies. The aim of this paper was to describe the relationship between the perception of fair, poor or very poor oral health and working conditions, hygiene habits and oral health care in workers with subsistence jobs from Medellín (Colombia), 2016. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with primary source of information was carried out, taken by survey of 686 informal workers. Variables were: sociodemographic conditions; labor conditions; habits; comorbidities; and oral health care. Dependent variable was perception of fair, poor or very poor oral health. Exploratory relational and multivalent analyses were made. RESULTS: Workers aged 50 (±11) years, 57.6% men, and 44.5% reported regular, bad/very bad oral health. Associated with this perception were: being male (PR=1.26/CI=1.05;1.51); being between thirty and forty-four (PR=3.04/CI=1.36;6.81), and ≥45 years old (PR=2.65/CI=1.17;6.00); income ≤500,000 Col $ (PR=1.20/CI=1.00;1.43); ≤5 years of schooling (PR=1.22/CI=1.01;1.27) and >30 years in their work; emergency dental consultation (PR=1.66/CI=1.10;2.52); considering care average (PR=1.68/CI=1.02;2.75), bad/very bad (PR=2.00/CI=1.00;3.99); changing toothbrush ≥1/year (PR=1.80/CI=1.18;2.74); tooth loss (PR=1.78/CI=1.33;2.38); prostheses (PR=1.23/CI=1.03;1.47); chewing (PR=2.16/CI=1.86;2.51), swallowing (PR=1.84/CI=1.54;2.21), speaking (PR=1.35/CI=1.02;1.78) and hot/cold food consumption (PR=1.22/CI=1.03;1.45). CONCLUSIONS: The conditions associated with worse oral health perception —income, schooling, habits and access/use of services— could be improved by incorporating public policy strategies.