Adverse Childhood Experiences and Oral Health Conditions Among Middle-aged and Older Chinese Adults: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Education and Gender

Keqing Zhang, Bei Wu, Wei Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study aims to examine whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with oral health conditions (denture use, difficulty in chewing, and edentulism) among middle-aged and older adults in China and if gender and adulthood education moderate the associations. Data were obtained from the 2014 and 2018 surveys from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (N = 17,091) and logistic regressions were carried out. Results show that childhood hunger (OR = 1.12), loneliness (OR = 1.10) and family relations (OR = 1.07) were significantly associated with higher odds of denture use and there were significant associations between hunger (OR = 1.16) and difficulty in chewing. For the female subsample, education significantly moderated the adverse effect of childhood hunger on denture use and difficulty in chewing. Findings suggest that ACEs have long-lasting impacts on oral health conditions in later life and adulthood education might offer critical resources for females, helping them buffer the detrimental health impacts of ACEs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)221-238
Number of pages18
JournalResearch on Aging
Volume45
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Keywords

  • adverse childhood experiences
  • denture use
  • difficulty in chewing
  • educational attainment
  • health and retirement longitudinal study
  • oral health conditions

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Health(social science)
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Adverse Childhood Experiences and Oral Health Conditions Among Middle-aged and Older Chinese Adults: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Education and Gender'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this