Table 1 Associations between social backgrounds, dental service utilization (DSU), and chewing difficulty in Thai older adults (n = 4,130)
Variables | N (%) | % with Chewing difficulty |
|---|---|---|
Location | ||
Urban | 2,242 (54.3) | 53.7 |
Rural | 1,888 (45.7) | 51.6¶ |
Gender | ||
Male | 2,001 (48.5) | 52.8 |
Female | 2,129 (51.5) | 52.7 |
Age | ||
60–64 yrs | 1,383 (33.4) | 52.1 |
65–69 yrs | 1,262 (30.6) | 50.4 |
70–74 yrs | 1,485 (36.0) | 55.3* |
Welfare | ||
UCS | 3,294 (79.8) | 53.9 |
SSS | 142 (3.4) | 50.0 |
CSMBS | 694 (16.8) | 47.6** |
Income | ||
≤ 15,000 baht | 3,756 (90.9) | 53.6 |
> 15,000 baht | 374 (9.1) | 43.6*** |
Education | ||
Primary school or lower | 3,222 (78.0) | 54.0 |
Middle school or higher | 908 (22.0) | 48.2** |
Elderly independence | ||
Completely independent | 3,961 (95.9) | 52.5 |
Partially independent or Fully dependent | 169 (4.1) | 58.6¶ |
DSU | ||
Not utilized | 2,543 (61.6) | 50.1 |
Utilized | 1,587 (38.4) | 57.0*** |