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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
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Early childhood caries and its relationship with perinatal, socioeconomic and nutritional risks: a cross-sectional

Valdeci Elias dos Santos Junior1, Rebeca Maria Brasileiro de Sousa, Maria Cecília Oliveira

  • 1Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil. valdeciodonto@gmail.com.

BMC Oral Health
|June 3, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Low family income, premature birth, and infant obesity are linked to early childhood caries (ECC). These socioeconomic and health factors significantly increase the prevalence of ECC in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Dentistry
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Socioeconomic and perinatal factors significantly influence individual and population health.
  • Early childhood caries (ECC) is a prevalent issue with multifactorial origins.
  • Understanding determinants of ECC is crucial for targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC).
  • To investigate the association between perinatal factors (gestational age, teenage pregnancy, birth weight), family income, and nutritional risk with ECC.
  • To identify key risk factors for ECC in a pediatric population.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 320 children examined using World Health Organization criteria.
  • Validated questionnaires collected data on family income, gestational age, and birth weight.
  • Nutritional risk assessed using CDC criteria; statistical analyses included Pearson's, chi-square, and multivariate Poisson regression.

Main Results:

  • Approximately 20% of children presented with ECC.
  • Multivariate Poisson analyses revealed significant associations between increased ECC prevalence and lower family income (p=0.009), lower birth weight (p<0.001), and infant obesity (p<0.001).
  • Gestational age (p=0.149) and teenage pregnancy (p>0.05) were not significantly associated with ECC in this cohort.

Conclusions:

  • The prevalence of ECC is significantly associated with socioeconomic status, specifically low family income.
  • Perinatal factors, including premature birth (low birth weight) and infant obesity, are critical determinants of ECC.
  • These findings highlight the need for integrated strategies addressing socioeconomic and health factors to prevent ECC.
Abstract

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