TABLE 4.
Patients’ characteristics summarized by the combination of adherence to Mediterranean diet (aMed score) and physical activity level
| Low aMed, low/moderate PA | Low aMed, high PA | High aMed, low/moderate PA | High aMed, high PA | P‐value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | n = 95 | n = 25 | n = 69 | n = 46 | |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||||
| Age | 55.26 [52.36, 58.15] | 46.58 [39.22, 53.94] | 53.56 [50.26, 56.86] | 55.15 [50.64, 59.66] | 0.26 |
| BMI | 26.06,d [25.10, 27.02] | 25.22a,c,d [22.95, 27.49] | 25.81b,c [24.57, 27.07] | 23.88a [22.87, 24.90] | 0.04 |
| Sex, females | 50c (52.63%) | 6b (27.27%) | 55a (75.34%) | 25a,b,c (55.56%) | 0.00 |
| Occupation | |||||
| Unemployed | 22 (23.40%) | 4 (18.18%) | 9 (12.33%) | 7 (15.56%) | 0.48 |
| Employed | 50 (53.19%) | 15 (68.18%) | 44 (60.27%) | 24 (53.33%) | |
| Retired | 22 (23.40%) | 3 (13.64%) | 20 (27.40%) | 14 (31.11%) | |
| Education | |||||
| Elementary/middle school | 35 (36.84%) | 8 (38.10%) | 17 (23.29%) | 9 (20%) | 0.66 |
| High school | 42 (44.21%) | 11 (52.38%) | 34 (46.58%) | 20 (44.44%) | |
| College or more | 18 (18.95%) | 2 (9.52%) | 22 (30.14%) | 16 (35.56%) | |
| Smoking | |||||
| Never | 37 (38.95%) | 10 (45.45%) | 33 (45.21%) | 27 (60%) | 0.69 |
| Former | 31 (32.63%) | 5 (22.73%) | 20 (27.40%) | 11 (24.44%) | |
| Smoker | 27 (28.42%) | 7 (31.82%) | 20 (27.40%) | 7 (15.56%) | |
| Familiarity for periodontitis, yes | 36 (37.89%) | 6 (27.27%) | 29 (39.73%) | 16 (35.56%) | 0.46 |
| Oral health status | |||||
| Periodontitis † | |||||
| Healthy‐gingivitis | 11 (32.35%)a | 6 (17.65%)a | 13 (38.24%)b | 4 (11.76%)b | 0.04 |
| Stage I | 1 (3.70%)a | 0 (0%)a | 14 (51.85%)b | 12 (44.44%)b | |
| Stage II | 13 (23.21%)a | 3 (5.36%)a | 24 (42.86%)b | 16 (28.57%)b | |
| Stage III/IV | 70 (73.68%)a | 13 (59.09%)a | 22 (30.14%)b | 13 (28.89%)b | |
| Grade † | |||||
| None | 14 (14.74%) | 6 (24%) | 12 (17.39%) | 2 (4.35%) | 0.32 |
| A | 3 (3.16%) | 0 (0%) | 7 (10.15%) | 11 (23.91%) | |
| B | 42 (44.21%) | 13 (52%) | 33 (47.82%) | 23 (50%) | |
| C | 36 (37.89%) | 6 (24%) | 17 (24.64%) | 10 (21.74%) | |
| Extent † | |||||
| None | 34 (14.45%) | 0.12 | |||
| Localized | 43 (18.30%) | 9 (3.84%) | 35 (14.89%) | 17 (7.23%) | |
| Generalized | 41 (17.45%) | 7 (2.98%) | 25 (10.65%) | 24 (10.21%) | |
| Number of teeth | 23.74 [22.60, 24.89] | 24.31 [21.58, 27.04] | 24.46 [23.28, 25.64] | 24.51 [22.92, 26.09] | 0.76 |
| CAL (mm) | 3.02 [2.82, 3.22] | 2.71 [2.31, 3.11] | 2.70 [2.52, 2.89] | 2.68 [2.50, 2.86] | 0.07 |
| PPD (mm) | 2.64 [2.50, 2.79] | 2.52 [2.20, 2.84] | 2.46 [2.31, 2.61] | 2.42 [2.29, 2.56] | 0.18 |
| % PPD > 4 mm | 11.64 [9.07, 14.20] | 8.22 [3.37, 13.07] | 8.35 [5.54, 11.11] | 6.42 [4.15, 8.68] | 0.07 |
| % PPD 5‐6 mm | 9.92 [7,79, 12.05]a | 5.68 [2.65, 8.71]b | 6.84 [4.61, 9.07]b | 5.42 [3.54, 7.30]b | 0.04 |
| % PPD > 6 mm | 2.42 [1.26, 3.57] | 2.63 [0.5, 5.81] | 8.36 [5.26, 22] | 1.04 [0.45, 1.63] | 0.43 |
| Furcation involvement, yes ‡ | 43 (45.26%)a | 8 (36.36%)a,c,d | 17 (23.29%)b,c | 8 (17.78%)b,d | 0.00 |
| Mobility, yes | 50 (52.63%)a | 5 (22.73%)b,c | 27 (36.99%)a,c | 9 (20%)b,c | 0.00 |
| Number of bleeding pockets § | 9.68 [7.16, 12.20] | 7.05 [2.02, 12.07] | 5.60 [3.68, 7.52] | 5.24 [3.05, 7.43] | 0.07 |
| FMPS | 53.15 [48.12, 58.19] | 46.59 [36.43, 56.74] | 48.64 [42.34, 54.94] | 50.15 [44.52, 55.78] | 0.59 |
| FMBS | 30.48 [26.80, 34.16] | 26.77 [20.00, 33.54] | 26.39 [21.97, 30.76] | 28.37 [23.40, 33.35] | 0.35 |
| Teeth lost for periodontitis, yes | 41 (43.16%)a | 6 (27.27%)a,c | 18 (24.66%)b,c | 11 (24.44%)c | 0.04 |
| Domiciliary plaque control | |||||
| Brushing frequency | |||||
| Not performed | 3 (3.16%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1.37%) | 0 (0%) | 0.31 |
| Occasionally | 25 (26.32%) | 4 (18.18%) | 10 (13.70%) | 7 (15.56%) | |
| Every day | 67 (70.53%) | 18 (81.82%) | 62 (84.93%) | 38 (84.44%) | |
| Toothbrush type, powered | 53 (55.79%) | 9 (40.91%) | 37 (50.68%) | 23 (51.11%) | 0.63 |
| Interdental cleaning (IC) | |||||
| Not performed | 36 (37.89%) | 7 (31.82%) | 22 (30.14%) | 10 (22.22%) | 0.16 |
| Interdental floss | 21 (22.11%) | 8 (36.36%) | 15 (20.55%) | 7 (15.56%) | |
| Interproximal brushes | 38 (40%) | 7 (31.82%) | 36 (49.32%) | 28 (62.22%) | |
| Frequency of IC | |||||
| Not performed | 37 (38.95%) | 7 (31.82%) | 21 (28.77%) | 10 (22.22%) | 0.09 |
| Occasionally | 20 (21.05%) | 8 (36.36%) | 12 (16.44%) | 8 (17.78%) | |
| Every day | 38 (40%) | 7 (31.82%) | 40 (54.79%) | 27 (60%) | |
Note: results of continuous variables are reported as mean [95% confidence interval]; results of binary and categorical variables are expressed as number (proportion).
Abbreviations: aMed, alternate Mediterranean diet score; CAL, clinical attachment level; FMBS, full‐mouth bleeding score; FMPS, full‐mouth plaque score; IC, interdental cleaning; PA, physical activity; PPD, probing depth.
Values with different superscript letters are different at the 5% level.
*P‐value of the Kruskal Wallis or Fisher's exact test for patients’ characteristics across the four subgroups; P < 0.05.
† According to the 2018 EFP/AAP classification.
‡ Class II/III furcation involvement according to the classification of Hamp et al.
§ Defined as the number of sites with probing depth ≥ 5 mm and positive to bleeding on probing.