The Association of Weight Status with Dental Caries and Trachoma Among School Children in Cities of Changsha and Shenzhen, China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17140/EPOJ-2-110Keywords:
Childhood obesity, Dental caries, Trachoma, Epidemiological studyAbstract
Dental caries and trachoma are two common diseases among children in developing countries. To examine whether weight status is associated with these two diseases, we used data from two screening surveys conducted in Changsha and Shenzhen, two cities in China. The screening surveys were part of a case-control study examining risk factors related to childhood obesity. Approximately 5,900 children (3,794 from Changsha and 2,193 from Shenzhen) participated in the screening survey in which weight and height were measured. Decayed or filled tooth counts (primary dentition) and trachoma infection status were obtained from school general health examination records (SGER). After excluding those who had missing information on weight, height, and SGER, a total of 4,073 (2,185 boys and 1,888 girls) aged 5-9 years old were included in the analysis. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m2) and standardized for age and sex, then converted to a BMI z-score. Using BMI z-score, subjects were categorized into 4 groups as underweight (<-2), normal weight (~1.03), overweight (~1.64), or obese (>1.64). Overall, approximately 5.5% of children (6.2% girls and 4.6% boys) were underweight and 18% (11% girls and 23% boys) were overweight or obese. Comparing normal weight to underweight, overweight and obese subjects, after adjusting for age, gender, grade, and city of survey, the odds ratios (OR, [95% CI]) for dental caries were 1.12 (0.84-1.49), 0.70 (0.56-0.86), and 0.62 (0.48-0.79), (p for trends <0.001) while the ORs for trachoma were 1.65 (0.94-2.89), 0.90 (0.52-1.57), and 1.92 (1.20 -3.06). This suggests that weight status is associated with dental caries and trachoma among these Chinese children. Further study is warranted to explore the underlying mechanism(s).
References
Broyles ST, Denstel KD, Church TS, et al. The epidemiological transition and the global childhood obesity epidemic. Int J Obes Suppl. 2015; 5(Suppl 2): S3-S8. doi: 10.1038/ijosup.2015.12
Zhang S, Man Lo EC, Liu J, Chu CH. A review of the dental caries status of ethnic minority children in China. J Immigr Minor Health. 2015; 17(1): 285-297. doi: 10.1007/s10903-013- 9916-3
Cleaton-Jones P, Fatti P, Bonecker M. Dental caries trends in 5- to 6-year-old and 11- to 13-year-old children in three UNICEF designated regions--Sub Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and Caribbean: 1970-2004. Int Dent J. 2006; 56(5): 294-300. doi: 10.1111/j.1875-595X.2006. tb00104.x
Christian B, Blinkhorn AS. A review of dental caries in Australian Aboriginal children: The health inequalities perspective. Rural Remote Health. 2012; 12(4): 2032.
Wang LH, Wang B, Wang HY, et al. Prevalence of trachoma in rural primary school children in Tengzhou City of Shandong Province in China [In Chinese]. Zhonghua Yan Ke Za Zhi. 2010; 46(5): 395-399. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.0412-4081.2010.05.004
Alemayehu M, Koye DN, Tariku A, Yimam K. Prevalence of active trachoma and its associated factors among rural and urban children in Dera Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia: A comparative cross-sectional study. Biomed Res Int. 2015; 2015: 570898. doi: 10.1155/2015/570898
Mengistu K, Shegaze M, Woldemichael K, Gesesew H, Markos Y. Prevalence and factors associated with trachoma among children aged 1-9 years in Zala district, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Clin Ophthalmol. 2016; 10: 1663-1670. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S107619
Yao Y, Ren X, Song X, et al. The relationship between dental caries and obesity among primary school children aged 5 to 14 years. Nutr Hosp. 2014; 30(1): 60-65. doi: 10.3305/ nh.2014.30.1.7552
Vázquez-Nava F, Vázquez-Rodríguez EM, Saldívar-González AH, Lin-Ochoa D, Martinez-Perales GM, Joffre-Velázquez VM. Association between obesity and dental caries in a group of preschool children in Mexico. J Public Health Dent. 2010; 70(2): 124-130. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2009.00152.x
Honne T, Pentapati K, Kumar N, Acharya S. Relationship between obesity/overweight status, sugar consumption and dental caries among adolescents in South India. Int J Dent Hyg. 2012; 10(4): 240-244. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-5037.2011.00534.x
Chen W, Chen P, Chen SC, Shih WT, Hu HC. Lack of association between obesity and dental caries in three-year-old children. Zhonghua Min Guo Xiao Er Ke Yi Xue Hui Za Zhi. 1998; 39(2): 109-111.
D'Mello G, Chia L, Hamilton SD, Thomson WM, Drummon BK. Childhood obesity and dental caries among paediatric dental clinic attenders. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2011; 21(3): 217-222. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2011.01112.x
Granville-Garcia AF, de Menezes VA, de Lira PI, Ferreira JM, Leite-Cavalcanti. A Obesity and dental caries among preschool children in Brazil. Rev Salud Publica (Bogota). 2008; 10(5): 788-795. doi: 10.1590/S0124-00642008000500011
Wu L, Chang R, Mu Y, et al. Association between obesity and dental caries in Chinese children. Caries Res. 2013; 47(2): 171-176. doi: 10.1159/000344017
Farsi DJ, Elkhodary HM, Merdad LA, et al., Prevalence of obesity in elementary school children and its association with dental caries. Saudi Med J. 2016; 37(12): 1387-1394. doi: 10.15537/smj.2016.12.15904
Prashanth ST, Bhatnagar S, Das UM, Gopu H. Oral health knowledge, practice, oral hygiene status, and dental caries prevalence among visually impaired children in Bangalore. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent. 2011; 29(2): 102-105. doi: 10.4103/0970-4388.84680
Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Guo SS, et al, 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States: Methods and development. N.C.f.H. Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2002. Web site. http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/12043359. Accessed June 22, 2017.
Thylefors B, Dawson CR, Jones BR, West SK, Taylor HR. A simple system for the assessment of trachoma and its complications. Bull World Health Organ. 1987; 65(4): 477-483.
Liang YJ, Xi B, Song AQ, Liu JX, Mi J. Trends in general and abdominal obesity among Chinese children and adolescents 1993-2009. Pediatr Obes. 2012; 7(5): 355-364. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-6310.2012.00066.x
Song Y, Wang HJ, Dong B, Ma J, Wang Z, Agardh A. 25- year trends in gender disparity for obesity and overweight by using WHO and IOTF definitions among Chinese school-aged children: A multiple cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2016; 6(9): e011904. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011904
Wang HY, Petersen PE, Bian JY, Zhang BX. The second national survey of oral health status of children and adults in China. Int Dent J. 2002; 52(4): 283-290. doi: 10.1111/j.1875- 595X.2002.tb00632.x
Shen A, Zeng X, Cheng M, Tai B, Huang R, Bernabé E. Inequalities in dental caries among 12-year-old Chinese children. J Public Health Dent. 2015; 75(3): 210-217. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12091
Hu A, Cai X, Qiao L, Wang N. Comparison of visual impairment caused by trachoma in China between 1978 and 2006. Zhonghua Yan Ke Za Zhi. 2015; 51(10): 768-772.
Ren Z, Liang QF, Guo S, Zhou YM, Li R, Sun XG. Prevalence and risk factors for trachoma in primary school children in Datong City in China [In Chinese]. Zhonghua Yan Ke Za Zhi. 2008; 44(6): 507-510. doi: 10.3321/j.issn:0412- 4081.2008.06.007
Xue W, Lina Lu, Zhu J, et al. A cross-sectional population-based survey of trachoma among migrant school aged children in Shanghai, China. Biomed Res Int. 2016; 2016: 8692685. doi: 10.1155/2016/8692685
Wang N, Deng S, Tian L. A review of trachoma history in China: research, prevention, and control. Sci China Life Sci. 2016; 59(6): 541-547.
Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition: Carbohydrates and Health. London: T.S. Office, Editor; 2015.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All content published in Epidemiology (EOJ) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work — including for commercial purposes — provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.