A Multilevel Approach on Self-Reported Dental Caries in Subjects of Minority Ethnic Groups: A Cross-Sectional Study of 6440 Adults.

Abstract

Regional contextual factors and dental caries using multilevel modeling related to adults in minority ethnic groups have been scantily explored. The influence of the socioeconomic context on self-reported dental caries (SRDC) in individuals of minority ethnic groups (IEG) in Colombia was studied. Data from the 2007 National Public Health Survey were collected in 34,843 participants of the population. The influence of different factors on SRDC in IEG was investigated with logistic and multilevel regression analyses. A total of 6440 individuals belonged to an ethnic group. Multilevel analysis showed a significant variance in SRDC that was smaller in IEG level than between states. Multilevel multivariate analysis also associated SRDC with increasing age, lower education level, last dental visit >1year, unmet dental need and low Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Minority ethnic groups were at risk to report higher dental caries, where low GDP was an important variable to be considered.