Relationship Between Dental Caries and Childhood Obesity in Malaysia

Objectives: To assess the relationship between dental caries and childhood obesity and related factors among 5-6 year-old preschool children. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 898, 5-6 year-old children attending 25 kindergartens (government and private) in 2 large districts in Selangor. A multi-staged and cluster random sampling was employed. Children's primary dentition was examined using the dmft index and their weight and height measured. The Body Mass Index (BMI in kg/m2) was calculated. The WHO 2007 cut off points for BMI-for-age was used in boys and girls. Prior to the study their mothers were given a questionnaire comprising their age, education level and family income. Only mothers who responded and consented to participate together with their children were included in the study. Results: The caries prevalence was 67.9%; the mean dt and dmft were 3.97 [95% CI (3.67, 4.26)] and 4.18 [95% CI (3.88, 4.49)] respectively. The prevalence of ‘overweight', ‘obese' and ‘normal' children were 8.9%, 15.1% and 54.9% respectively for boys and 8.4%, 9.6% and 53.0% for girls. No significant association was found between ‘overweight' or ‘obese' with caries experience, mother's education level and family income (p>0.05). Boys had significantly higher prevalence of ‘overweight' and ‘obese' than girls (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study indicated that there was no relationship between caries and obesity in this paediatric population. Further studies need to be conducted to confirm the finding.