IADR Abstract Archives
Association Between Adolescence Dental Caries and Nutritional Status in Ladakh
Objectives: Evaluate the correlation between nutritional status (body mass index [BMI]) and dental caries among 12 to 18-year-old adolescence in a remote area with an average altitude over 3000 meters in Ladakh, India.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a boarding school, composed of 325 students aged from 2 to 18 years, receiving the school-based health exam program in August 2017. The oral health checkup was performed in 110 adolescences age over 12 years. Caries experience was recorded using the DMFT index under the WHO standard guideline. Anthropometric measurements, including weight, height pulse rate and peripheral oxygen saturation, were recorded. Normal weight and underweight were defined by BMI-for-age Z score (BAZ) according to the WHO Child Growth Standards. Student’s t test was used for continuous variables and Chi-square for categorical variables. Univariate regression analysis was performed to exam the association between DMFT index and other variables.
Results: 46 males and 64 females were enrolled in this study. Average teeth number were 27.35±2.19 in male and 27.73±1.38 in female. The average DMFT index were 2.95±2.55 for all, 3.07±2.25 for male and 2.88±2.76 for female, accordingly. The gender difference of DMFT index was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The female group had a higher BMI and heart rate than the male group (p<0.05). Underweight and normal weight groups had a similar DMFT index(2.26±1.75 v.s. 3.06±2.65, p=0.264); however, normal weight group had higher missing teeth value. In the univariate regression model, older age showed positive association (β=0.19, p=0.04) while BAZ showed no significant association with DMFT index(β=0.36, p=0.15).
Conclusions: We demonstrated the DMFT index in Ladakh, India that previously lacked data. In the high mountain area, no significant association was found between DMFT and BAZ in this study.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a boarding school, composed of 325 students aged from 2 to 18 years, receiving the school-based health exam program in August 2017. The oral health checkup was performed in 110 adolescences age over 12 years. Caries experience was recorded using the DMFT index under the WHO standard guideline. Anthropometric measurements, including weight, height pulse rate and peripheral oxygen saturation, were recorded. Normal weight and underweight were defined by BMI-for-age Z score (BAZ) according to the WHO Child Growth Standards. Student’s t test was used for continuous variables and Chi-square for categorical variables. Univariate regression analysis was performed to exam the association between DMFT index and other variables.
Results: 46 males and 64 females were enrolled in this study. Average teeth number were 27.35±2.19 in male and 27.73±1.38 in female. The average DMFT index were 2.95±2.55 for all, 3.07±2.25 for male and 2.88±2.76 for female, accordingly. The gender difference of DMFT index was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The female group had a higher BMI and heart rate than the male group (p<0.05). Underweight and normal weight groups had a similar DMFT index(2.26±1.75 v.s. 3.06±2.65, p=0.264); however, normal weight group had higher missing teeth value. In the univariate regression model, older age showed positive association (β=0.19, p=0.04) while BAZ showed no significant association with DMFT index(β=0.36, p=0.15).
Conclusions: We demonstrated the DMFT index in Ladakh, India that previously lacked data. In the high mountain area, no significant association was found between DMFT and BAZ in this study.