歯科医療費の地域格差に関する研究 Ｉ． 年齢群別特徴と要因分析

Abstract

The dental care expenditure of 108 municipalities in Niigata prefecture in 1990 was analyzed by cross-sectional. The subjects were persons coverd by National Health Insurance. The analysis was carried out in each age group on the basis of municipalities. The indices used in this study were the dental care expenditure per person and three factors of the dental care expenditure (the dental care rate, the average length of treatment days per dental receipt and the dental care expenditure per day).The persons coverd by National Health Insurance were 31.3% of whole age group. This rate was higher in the older group (over 60 years of age) than the younger group.The dental care expenditure per person increased up to age group of 60-69 in relation to increasing age and decreased in the age group above 70 of age, but in the age group of 5-9 the expenditure was exceptionally high.The dental care rate was highly correlated with the dental care expenditure per person. The regional difference in the dental care rate was highest in the three factors.The factors which influence dental care expenditure were analyzed by multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the number of dentists had a positive influence in almost all age groups, and that per capita income had a positive influence in infants and the old, and that caries prevalence in permanent teeth had a very positive influence in the age groups of 5-9 and 10-19. There was no correlation between caries prevalence in deciduous teeth and the dental care expenditure.To ascertain the “physician-induced demand theory” a multiple regression analysis was carried out by using the dental care expenditure per dental receipt as a criterion variable. The result showed that the number of dentists did not influence the dental care expenditure per dental receipt.