Diet, body mass index and dental caries among thai children aged 3 to 5 years.
We examined each child to determine the
number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) giving a DMFT score. We also
measured the height and weight for each subject and calculated their body mass
index (BMI) as weight in kilograms divided by height in meter squared. Parents
or guardians were asked to complete a questionnaire asking general information
and the diet of the child. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed using the
Kruskal-Wallis test. Associations between caries and variables were examined
using the Spearman’s correlation with significance set at p<0.05. The mean (±SD)
age of the subject, the mean (±SD) DMFT score of the subject and the mean (±SD)
BMI for the subjects were 4.21(±0.71) years old, 5.27(±4.78) and 16.46(±2.56) kg/
m2, respectively. Seventy-one percent of subjects had a normal BMI, 25% were
overweight and 4% were underweight. Eighteen percent had no caries (DMFT
score=0), 32% had a few caries (DMFT score=0.1-3.0), 14% had many caries (DMFT
scores=3.1-6.9), and 36% had very many caries (DMFT≥7). The DMFT score was
not significantly associated with a history of sugar consumption or BMI. The
DMFT score was significantly negatively associated with estimated fat consumption
and estimated iron consumption based on the diet reported by the parents or
guardians. Further studies are needed to determine if these reported diets reflect
actual consumption and if the associations are still significant.
PMID: 29642310 [PubMed - in process...
Source: Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health Source Type: research
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