Associations between Caries among Children and Household Sugar Procurement, Exposure to Fluoridated Water and Socioeconomic Indicators in the Brazilian Capital Cities.

Michele Martins Gonçalves,Cláudio Rodrigues Leles,Maria Do Carmo Matias Freire

doi:10.1155/2013/492790

Michele Martins Gonçalves, Cláudio Rodrigues Leles + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/492790

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Abstract

The objective of this ecological study was to investigate the association between caries experience in 5- and 12-year-old Brazilian children in 2010 and household sugar procurement in 2003 and the effects of exposure to water fluoridation and socioeconomic indicators. Sample units were all 27 Brazilian capital cities. Data were obtained from the National Surveys of Oral Health; the National Household Food Budget Survey; and the United Nations Program for Development. Data analysis included correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, and linear regression. There were significant negative associations between caries experience and procurement of confectionery, fluoridated water, HDI, and per capita income. Procurement of confectionery and soft drinks was positively associated with HDI and per capita income. Exploratory factor analysis grouped the independent variables by reducing highly correlated variables into two uncorrelated component variables that explained 86.1% of total variance. The first component included income, HDI, water fluoridation, and procurement of confectionery, while the second included free sugar and procurement of soft drinks. Multiple regression analysis showed that caries is associated with the first component. Caries experience was associated with better socioeconomic indicators of a city and exposure to fluoridated water, which may affect the impact of sugars on the disease.

Highlights

There is a correlation between sugar consumption and caries experience in children using population data from different countries [1,2,3]
Procurement of confectionery and sugary soft drinks sugar were positively associated with Human Development Index (HDI) and per capita income, while procurement of free sugar was not correlated with any of the socioeconomic variables studied (P < 0.001)
This study showed that children’s caries experience in 2010 was associated with better socioeconomic indicators of cities and exposure to fluoridated water

Summary

Introduction

There is a correlation between sugar consumption and caries experience in children using population data from different countries [1,2,3]. Exposure to fluorides in public water supplies and fluoridated toothpastes are considered to be the main reasons for the reduction in the prevalence and inequalities in caries distribution [4, 5] and may influence the impact of sugar consumption on development of caries in children [6]. Further analysis of factors associated to caries prevalence from the 2003 Brazilian national survey demonstrated the role of socioeconomic factors and exposure to fluoridated water on caries distribution [13, 14]

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