Sex Differences in Oral Health and the Consumption of Sugary Diets in a Saudi Arabian Population

Figures & data

Figure 1 Flow chart of participants’ recruitment process.

Table 1 Distribution of Study Variables Between Males and Females

		Male	Female
Participants N (%)		977 (43.1%)	1288 (56.9%)
Age Mean (±SD)		14 (±1.51)	14 (±0.98)
Father’s education N (%)	Illiterate	81 (8.3%)	121 (9.4%)
	School educated	487 (49.8%)	624 (48.4%)
	Higher educated	409 (41.9%)	543 (42.2%|)
Mother’s education N (%)	Illiterate	103 (10.5%)	121 (9.4%)
	School educated	541 (55.4%)	684 (53.1%)
	Higher educated	333 (34.1%)	483 (37.5%)
Dental visits per year N (%)	Never	441 (45.1%)	520 (40.4%)
	Once	198 (20.3%)	194 (15.1%)
	More than once	338 (34.6%)	574 (44.6%)
Brushing frequency per day N (%)	Never	123 (12.6%)	13 (1.0%)
	Once or less	572 (58.5%)	404 (31.4%)
	Twice	282 (28.9%)	871 (67.6%)

Abbreviations: N, number; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Sex Differences in Relation to Mean Scores of DMF, Gingival Index and Plaque Index

	Male	Female	P-value
DMF Mean (±SD)	3.61 (±3.14)	4.29 (±3.44)	< 0.001*
- Decayed Mean (±SD)	3.01 (±2.90)	3.24 (±3.17)	0.247
- Missing Mean (±SD)	0.16 (±0.58)	0.31 (±1.04)	0.001*
- Filled Mean (±SD)	0.43 (±1.01)	0.74 (±1.45)	< 0.001*
Plaque index Mean (±SD)	1.72 (±0.79)	1.20 (±0.78)	< 0.001*
Gingival index Mean (±SD)	1.31 (±0.77)	0.69 (±0.73)	< 0.001*

Notes: Significance test (Mann–Whitney U-test). P value <0.05 is considered statistically significant. *Statistically significant.

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 3 Sex Differences in Relation to the Overall Consumption of Sugary Food and Beverages

	Sex	N	Mean ± SD	P-value
Overall frequency of sugary food^a	Male	977	11.7 ± 2.2	0.010*
	Female	1288	11.5 + 2.3
Overall frequency of sugary drinks^a	Male	977	9.7 ± 2.2	0.203
	Female	1288	9.6 ± 2.4
Overall quantity of sugary drinks^b	Male	977	8.0 ± 1.4	0.000*
	Female	1288	7.5 ± 1.5

Notes: Significance test (t- test). P value <0.05 is considered statistically significant. *Statistically significant. ^aTotal mean out of 16. ^bTotal mean out of 12.

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Sex Differences in the Frequency of Food and Beverages Consumed

Food/Beverages		Males N (%)	Females N (%)	P-value
Biscuits	Never	60 (6.1%)	64 (5.0%)	0.000**
	Monthly	90 (9.2%)	78 (6.1%)
	Weekly	450 (46.1%)	537 (41.7%)
	Daily	377 (38.6%)	609 (47.3%)
Jam	Never	347 (35.5%)	700 (54.3%)	0.000**
	Monthly	169 (17.3%)	180 (14.0%)
	Weekly	286 (29.3%)	257 (20.0%)
	Daily	175 (17.9%)	151 (11.7%)
Sugar containing chewing gum	Never	124 (12.7%)	256 (19.9%)	0.000**
	Monthly	61 (6.2%)	102 (7.9%)
	Weekly	372 (38.1%)	328 (25.5%)
	Daily	420 (43.0%)	602 (46.7%)
Candies	Never	76 (7.8%)	83 (6.4%)	0.001*
	Monthly	97 (9.9%)	91 (7.1%)
	Weekly	420 (43.0%)	502 (39.0%)
	Daily	384 (39.3%)	612 (47.5%)
Juices	Never	65 (6.7%)	153 (11.9%)	0.000**
	Monthly	33 (3.4%)	94 (7.3%)
	Weekly	306 (31.3%)	390 (30.3%)
	Daily	573 (58.6%)	651 (50.5%)
Energy drinks	Never	756 (77.4%)	1005 (78.0%)	0.349
	Monthly	80 (8.2%)	115 (8.9%)
	Weekly	107 (11.0%)	115 (8.9%)
	Daily	34 (3.5%)	53 (4.1%)
Sweetened milk	Never	444 (45.4%)	359 (27.9%)	0.000**
	Monthly	115 (11.8%)	179 (13.9%)
	Weekly	268 (27.4%)	424 (32.9%)
	Daily	150 (15.4%)	326 (25.3%)
Soft drinks	Never	163 (16.7%)	334 (25.9%)	0.000**
	Monthly	127 (13.0%)	258 (20.0%)
	Weekly	455 (46.6%)	469 (36.4%)
	Daily	232 (23.7%)	227 (17.6%)

Notes: Significance test (Chi-square test). P value <0.05 is considered statistically significant. *Statistically significant. **Highly significant.

Figure 2 Quantity of the consumed drinks among the study sample.

Figure 3 Frequency of the consumed sugary foods among the study sample.

Table 5 Sex Differences in the Quantity of Beverages Consumed

Beverages		Males N (%)	Females N (%)	P-value
Juices	Never	45 (4.6%)	143 (11.1%)	0.000**
	< 299 mL	584 (59.8%)	972 (75.5%)
	≥ 300 mL	348 (35.6%)	173 (13.4%)
Energy drinks	Never	569 (58.2%)	895 (69.5%)	0.000**
	< 299 mL	345 (35.3%)	290 (22.5%)
	≥ 300 mL	63 (6.4%)	103 (8.0%)
Sweetened milk	Never	320 (32.8%)	315 (24.5%)	0.000**
	< 299 mL	541 (55.4%)	857 (66.5%)
	≥ 300 mL	116 (11.9%)	116 (9.0%)
Soft drinks	Never	126 (12.9%)	295 (22.9%)	0.000**
	< 299 mL	263 (26.9%)	425 (33.0%)
	≥ 300 mL	588 (60.2%)	568 (44.1%)

Notes: Significance test (Chi-square test). P value <0.05 is considered statistically significant. **Highly significant.