Children In Chennai Research Articles

Prevalence of Drooling among 5–10 Year-old Cerebral Palsy Children in Chennai: A Cross-sectional Study

Aim: The present study assessed the drooling among 5–10 year-old cerebral palsy (CP) children in a tertiary care hospital in Chennai and measured the drooling frequency and severity among them. Materials and Methods: Drooling was measured both quantitative and qualitatively. The drooling frequency score was recorded using the 5 min Drooling Quotient (DQ5) Scale. Children with CP were assessed for drooling under two different conditions (active and rest) totally for 10 min. The drooling assessment was done using the Thomas-Stonell and Greenberg classification. The severity of drooling was recorded as (1) dry - never drools, (2) mild - only lips wet, (3) moderate - wet on lips and chin, (4) severe - drools to the extent that clothing becomes damp, and (5) profuse - clothing, hands, tray, and objects become wet. The frequency of the drooling is recorded as (1) never drools, (2) occasionally drools, (3) frequently drools, and (4) constantly drools. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version. Results: A total population of 110 children were included in the study. Among the 110 patients, 82 (74.5%) were males and 28 (25.5%) were females with a mean age of 7 years ± 1 year and 9 months. The prevalence of drooling among the CP children in this study was found to be 94.5% (104 children). The average DQ score for males during rest was 55.5 and during activity was 55.87. For females, the average DQ score for males during rest was 55.5 and activity 56.18. A significant negative correlation exists between age and drooling frequency and drooling severity too. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated a significant association between drooling and age.

Exploring the Risk Factors Associated with Video Game Addiction among Adolescent School Children in Chennai District, Tamil Nadu, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Video game addiction has emerged as a significant concern among adolescent children in recent years. With the widespread availability of technology and the increasing popularity of video games, a substantial number of adolescents are displaying addictive behaviours. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of video game addiction among adolescent school children in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India and find out the various risk factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Community Medicine, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India among 300 school children aged 10-17 years from four private schools in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India from February 2023 to June 2023. Data collection involved the Gaming Addiction Scale for Adolescents (GASA) and a pretested semistructured questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Results: The study revealed that approximately 31.7% of the participants had video game addiction. Categorical variables were analysed using the Chi-square test, with a significance level of p <0.05. Bivariate logistic regression was utilised to determine unadjusted odds ratios, and variables with p <0.05 were included in the multivariate model to calculate adjusted odds ratios and construct 95% confidence intervals. Conclusion: Video game addiction among adolescent school children is a significant issue with multiple associated risk factors. By promoting awareness, encouraging healthy coping mechanisms, and fostering balanced lifestyles, we can effectively address video game addiction and enhance the wellbeing of adolescent school children.

Dental Experience, Anxiety and Oral health in Low Income Chennai Children

Background: Dental problems are more common in children nowadays due to the change in food habits. Various treatment modalities are available including fillings, root canal treatment, and crown. The ambience in the dental clinic and the noise created by the compressor, suction apparatus make the child apprehensive, low-income children have more exposure to noises and their fear threshold are more compared with high-income children. This study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental anxiety and the factors influencing dental anxiety and poor oral health among low-income children in Chennai.
 Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty children were examined who reported to Pedodontic Department in Saveetha Dental College, Chennai. The oral health status of male and female patients was assessed based on the decayed, filled teeth index, simplified oral hygiene index (OHI), and Streptococcus mutans score. The assessment excluded the patient who had facial deformities, and mentally retardant, suffering from congenital diseases. Dental anxiety was assessed using the facial image scale and Frankl scale. Early dental experience was classified as: no previous dental visits; preventive control; restorative treatment; and emergency visit.
 Results: Dental caries is the key factor for the child to visit the dental clinic. The dental setup and its factors are one of the triggering agents to child’s anxiety and previous dental experiences. Patients with systemic problems have a high rate of dental caries.
 Conclusion: In low-income children, prior dental experiences of six-year-old children were directly related to their dental caries experience. Children who had preventive visits and those who had never seen a dentist before had low rates of dental caries. Patients have a low percentage of dental visits for their preventive treatment due to the unawareness of their parents. Simplified OHI and dental anxiety levels showed no statistically significant differences among the types of previous dental experiences

Age and sex-specific waist circumference percentiles among school children in Chennai

Background: The aim was to develop age- and sex-specific waist circumference percentiles for school children aged 5 to 17 years in Chennai. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done among school children in Chennai. A total of 1124 children aged 5 to 17 years were included in the study, of which 540 were female and 584 were male. Anthropometric details, weight, height, waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI) were measured. The percentiles for waist circumference according to age and gender was done using SPSS 28.0. Khadilkar et al suggested a cutoff of 70th centile screening for central obesity and risk for metabolic syndrome; similarly, we plotted 70th WC percentiles. Results: Age- and sex-specific WC percentiles (5th, 10th, 15th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th, 90th, 95th) were provided. Our study revealed a higher prevalence of overweight or obesity (40.6%) in children (overweight: 21.08%, obesity: 19.50%) when compared to other school studies. BMI in children with WC >70th percentile revealed 87% of them were overweight or obese. A strong and significant statistical correlation was observed between waist circumference and overweight or obesity (p<0.001). Conclusions: Age- and sex-specific reference curve percentiles for waist circumference and cut-off values greater than the 70th percentile for schoolchildren were provided. We strongly recommend utilising waist circumference as an anthropometrical tool to quantify central obesity in schoolchildren.

Health-seeking behaviour and its determinants of health of Under-5 Children living in urban slums of Chennai, India 2018.

Appropriate health-seeking behaviour could help in reducing child mortality and morbidity. Information on social factors of mortality and health-seeking behaviours of caregivers of under-5 children from slums of Indian cities is minimal in literature. We estimated the prevalence of health-seeking behaviour for morbidity ofunder-5 children and its determinants in urban slums in Chennai city, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a mixed-method design among primary caregivers of under-5 children living in Chennai slums, India. Two-stage cluster sampling was adopted to select 40 slums. A total of 233 primary caregivers were interviewed. Nine focus group discussions and 18 in-depth interviews were conducted among the primary caregivers. Prevalence of inappropriate health-seeking behaviour was estimated, and determinants were identified by multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Thematic analysis was done on qualitative data. We interviewed 233 primary caregivers. The weighted prevalence of inappropriate health-seeking behaviour for under-five children in urban slums of Chennai was 53.9% (95% CI: 46.9 - 60.8). Primary caregivers educated above secondary school were more likely (AOR of 2.3, 95% CI: 1.3-4.1) to follow inappropriate health-seeking behaviour compared to those educated below. Similarly, caregivers who were unaware of young child feeding practices (AOR of 3.6, 95% CI: 1.9-6.5) and early care-seeking and health practices (AOR of 2.5, 95% CI: 1.3-4.9) were more likely to engage in inappropriate health-seeking behaviour compared to those who were aware and we found that illness symptoms influenced health-seeking behaviour and that early disease detection might prevent severe illness. Health-seeking behaviour was found to be suboptimal among under-5 children in Chennai's urban slums. We suggest policymakers improve interventions on early care-seeking of common childhood illnesses in the urban health programme.

Assessment of Attitude and Awareness Towards Preventive Dentistry among Parents of Anganwadi Children in Chennai - A Cross-Sectional Study

Assessment of Attitude and Awareness Towards Preventive Dentistry among Parents of Anganwadi Children in Chennai - A Cross-Sectional Study

Effect of School-Based Educational Interventions on the Knowledge of Malaria and Dengue Among Higher Secondary School Children in Chennai, India: A Pre and Post-intervention Study.

Introduction: School children are a means to reach and sensitize the community on the prevention of seasonal diseases such as malaria and dengue. The current study aims to determine the impact of school-based educational interventions on the knowledge of students toward the prevention and control of malaria and dengue in higher secondary schools.Methods: This pre- and post-intervention study was conducted in three higher secondary schools in Zone IV, North Chennai, from September to December 2021. A total of 284 students in the age group of 13-17 years participated in the study. School-based educational interventions were delivered through PowerPoint-assisted lectures, participatory group activities, and demonstration of mosquito larvae and their control. The impact of the interventions as the change in knowledge level was analyzed using McNemar’s test, with a p-value of <0.05.Results: Educational interventions led to the improvement in knowledge about malaria symptoms, such as fever (43.7% to 76.1%; p<0.001), chills (45.1% to 82.4%; p<0.001), and headache (46.1% to 86.6%; p<0.001), and the knowledge of Aedes mosquito bites as the cause of dengue transmission enhanced (41.9% to 92.2%; p<0.001). Similarly, there was an increase in knowledge on the identification of vector mosquito breeding sites inside the house (11.9% to 67.9%; p<0.001) and outside the house (10.9% to 69.7%; p<0.001) and mosquito net usage (21.5% to 76.1%; p<0.001) after the interventions.Conclusion: School-based educational interventions had a significant impact on enhancing the knowledge on the prevention and control of malaria and dengue among school children. Involving school children can strengthen existing malaria and dengue prevention and control strategies in endemic areas.

Molecular investigation of human metapneumovirus in children with acute respiratory infections in Chennai, South India, from 2016-2018.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has emerged as a frequent cause of acute respiratory infections (ARI) among young children. The prevalence and genetic diversity of hMPV circulating in Chennai, Southern India, has not been studied yet. Hence, this study was aimed to investigate the prevalence, co-infection with other respiratory viruses like HRSV A and B, influenza A and B, hRV and HPIV 1-4 viruses, socio-demographic associations, and genotypes of hMPV among children in Chennai. A total of 350 nasal swab specimens were collected from children with ARI during April 2016 to August 2018 and tested for hMPV by real time PCR method. In this study, hMPV was detected in 4% (14/350) of the samples. One hMPV positive sample was found to be co-infected with influenza B virus. The mean and median ages of the children with hMPV infection were 61.5months (5.1years) and 83months (6.9years), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial F gene revealed the presence of A2c subcluster among the study strains as well as with B1 and B2 lineages. The prevalence data obtained in this study is important in evaluating the role of hMPV in childhood ARI and emphasizes the importance of routine viral diagnosis in hospitals. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the prevalence, seasonality, and genetic diversity of hMPV in Chennai as well as the first study to report A2c subcluster of hMPV among children in India.

Influence of Different Educational Syllabus on Occurrence of Bruxism In 4 To 9 Years Old Children in Chennai

Influence of Different Educational Syllabus on Occurrence of Bruxism In 4 To 9 Years Old Children in Chennai

Association of Prevalance and Severity of Dental Caries with Consumption of Food and Beverage Across Age and Gender among 6-12 Years Old Children in Chennai, Tamilnadu

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and severity of dental caries with correlation of food and drinkconsumption across age and gender in children aged 6-12 years in Chennai.Materials and Method: Among different schools in Chennai, schools in Ramapuram were selected and thestudents were selected by multistage random sampling. The pre-validated questionnaire was used, whichcomprises of open ended questions about diet, brushing technique along with their demographic details.Then the clinical examination was carried out to know about the caries prevalence and severity. A statisticalanalysis was done.Results: Snack food was consumed by large amount of children. 60 percentage of children consumed largeamount of carbonated drink than fresh juices. Low privileged population consumed large amount of sugar intheir tea or milk. When considering all variables, intake of confectionery was solitarily related with dentalcaries prevalence and consumption of tea with sugar was solitarily related with caries severity.Conclusion: Large amount of snacks and carbonated drinks were consumed by majority of children andresulted in dental caries.

A Cross Sectional Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Antibiotic Use for Children in Chennai among Mothers

Background and Aim: Mothers play a vital role in providing antibiotics to their children since they are too often affected with infections. Hence, the purpose of this study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards antibiotic use of children in Chennai among mothers. &#x0D; Materials and Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among mothers of 250 participants. A questionnaire based online survey was conducted and distributed through the survey planet. The data were collected and tabulated in Microsoft Excel sheets which were transferred to SPSS Version 20 for statistical analysis. Chi square test was performed to check for association between variables. &#x0D; Results: About 71.3% of the mothers are not aware that antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem and 53.3% are paying attention to the expiry date of antibiotics and also 59.3% of the respondents give higher doses of antibiotics to their child than what doctor’s prescribed. 44% of them are providing antibiotics prescribed by local pharmacists without any doctor's prescription. A highly significant association was seen in mothers with monthly income of &lt;30000 rupees do not prefer expensive antibiotics compared to monthly income of &gt;30000 rupees (Chi square test; p&lt;0.001, statistically significant). &#x0D; Conclusion: The study concluded that the mother’s limited knowledge about antibiotics. Hence it is important to facilitate multilevel parent’s education programs regarding antibiotic usage and create awareness about the complications of misconceptions of antibiotics.

Eruption Pattern of Permanent Molars among School Children in Chennai

Background: Estimation of the age of an individual is essential investigation in medicolegal cases,&#x0D; especially involving children and adolescents. Among the various factors used for age estimation, eruption of&#x0D; permanent teeth is one of them. Several factors influence the eruption of teeth, including genetic, nutritional&#x0D; and hormonal. This study was carried out to analyze the pattern of eruption of permanent teeth among school&#x0D; going children in urban Chennai.&#x0D; Method: This cross sectional study was carried out among 983 school children between the age group&#x0D; of 4-14 years. Two schools, one belonging to the lower socioeconomic status and the other belonging to&#x0D; the higher socioeconomic status were taken up for this study. Eruption of permanent teeth were examined&#x0D; clinically.&#x0D; Results: Majority of the first molars erupted by7-7.5 years of age (95%) while majority of the central&#x0D; incisors erupted between 8-9 years. Lateral incisors were completely erupted between 9.5-10 years and first&#x0D; premolar were completely erupted between 12.5-12.9 years. Both second premolar and canine erupted by&#x0D; 13.5-13.9 years.&#x0D; Conclusion: The visual observation of eruption of permanent teeth is a non invasive procedure and does not&#x0D; require any special machines like that of radiography. This method of assessing the age of the individual is&#x0D; considerably easier, economical and safe. Hazards of exposing the individual to radiation can be prevented.

A report on the occlusal dental caries experience in deciduous, mixed and permanent dentition of school children in Chennai, Tamil Nadu 2017-18

Background: Dental caries is the most common disease among the spectrum of oral diseases and is still a major public health burden in developing countries, affecting 60-90% of school children. To obtain a database about the dental caries prevalence among the school children in Chennai city, 2017-2018.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 2300 school children aged between 3 to 17 years in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Dental caries was recorded using World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and DMFT indices. Chi square test was done to assess the comparison between primary and mixed and mixed and permanent. DMFT and DMFT indices had extreme values, hence ‘0’ was set as median value and median test was applied.Results: The present study showed a higher prevalence of dental caries in primary (40.17%), mixed (‘d’ 33.02% and ‘D’ 38.8%) and permanent dentition (51.06%). The filled component is less with 0.85% in primary, 2.20% in mixed ‘f’, 0.58% in mixed ‘F’, and 2.98% in permanent dentition. The mean ‘DMFT’ in primary dentition is 1.32, mixed dentition mean ‘DMFT’ is 0.84, mixed dentition mean ‘DMFT’ is 0.96 and in permanent dentition mean DMFT is 1.57. Dental caries prevalence was found to be significantly more in males when compared to females.Conclusions: There is a higher prevalence of dental caries among school children in all three groups and this data can be used to plan preventive programmes to improve the oral health of this children.

Nutrient analysis of school lunches and anthropometric measures in a private and public school in Chennai, India.

School lunch programs have been implemented as a method to facilitate better learning environments for children. These programs bring together the importance of adequate nutrition for academic performance, growth and development. This study served to assess the impact of the School Lunch Program in India and observe measures related to nutrition adequacy and stunting in school aged children in Chennai, India. Dietary and anthropometric data were collected among students of ages 7 to 10 in a privately funded (n = 64) and a publicly funded school (n = 28). Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis was assessed for private school students. BMI for Age Z-scores for the private school (0.05 ± 1.36) (mean ± standard deviation) and public school (- 0.91 ± 2.01) were significantly different (p = 0.008). Additionally, 32% of public school students exhibited mild stunting, classified as Z-scores less than - 1. Total calories consumed during the private school lunch was 269 ± 112 and 463 ± 234 for the publically funded school. Analysis of nutritional parameters of meals suggest that adequacy was otherwise fair during this singular analysis but does not provide evidence to correlate body composition and long term implications of malnutrition with this study population. Additional longitudinal analysis is required to better assess these implications.

Distribution of School Children Based on the Type of Terminal Plane in Primary Dentition: A Study among 3- to 5-year-old Children in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

ABSTRACTBackgroundThis study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of primary malocclusion among school children under 5 years of age in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.Materials and methodsA total of 814 school children under 5 years were selected from 5 government and 5 private schools in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, India, and their occlusion was recorded based on the terminal planes. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software. Frequency distribution and Chi-square test were carried out.ResultsThe most common occlusion seen in the present study was flush terminal plane (54.05%). Of them, 43.73% had mesial step and 2.08% had distal step. There was no significant difference between males and females.ConclusionThe signs of future malocclusion are found to be high. Hence, early preventive and interceptive measures are necessary to reduce the prevalence of future developing malocclusion and further adverse effects.How to cite this articleAnu V, Pavani B, Pavani D, et al. Distribution of School Children Based on the Type of Terminal Plane in Primary Dentition: A Study among 3- to 5-year-old Children in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(2):136–137.

Parents' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the pit and fissure sealant therapy.

Context:Parents' interpretation on children's oral health care practices plays a vital role in improving children's oral health.Aim:This study sought to evaluate parents' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding dental sealants.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among parents of school-going children in Chennai, India. Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward sealant therapy were assessed through a questionnaire survey among 250 parents (45% fathers and 55% mothers).Results:A statistically significant difference was noted in the knowledge and attitude scores at various age groups; 71% of the participants agreed that pit and fissure sealants are effective in preventing dental caries. Only 34% of the study participants' children had received dental sealants.Conclusion:The parental knowledge and awareness of preventive practices appear to support dental sealants as a preventive strategy for dental caries. But most parents did not practice the preventive measures despite knowing its effectiveness and benefits. Greater efforts should be made to encourage the parents to provide their children with primary care.

Applicability of Different Mixed Dentition Analyses among Children Aged 11-13 Years in Chennai Population.

ABSTRACTIntroductionMixed dentition is the stage where both primary and permanent teeth are present and hence is the time for developing occlusion. Mixed dentition analysis forms an essential part of an orthodontic assessment. Moyer's method which is commonly used for this analysis is based on data derived from a Caucasian population. Tanaka–Johnston developed prediction tables comparable with that of Moyer's from teeth measurement study models.AimTo test the reliability of Moyer's and Tanaka–Johnston's mixed dentition space analyses among children in Chennai.Materials and methodsThe mesiodistal measurements of the mandibular incisors, maxillary canines, and premolars were taken by measuring the greatest distance between the contact points on the proximal surfaces using a dental digital caliper set on dental casts of 1,000 children. Predicted values were obtained using Moyer's probability analysis at the 75th percentile and Tanaka–Johnston method. The statistical analysis for both sexes was done using Student's t test and unpaired t test.ResultsOn application of the statistical analysis after the collection of data, it was found that the mean value in males was higher than the actual values in maxillary right and left sides when compared with the mandibular right and left sides while employing Moyer's method. The standard deviation (SD) was higher in the actual values when compared with the predicted values. Statistically significant values were obtained for the maxillary left side and the mandibular left side, but there was no statistical difference in the maxillary and mandibular right sides. Among females, it was found that the actual values had a higher mean value in the maxillary arch when compared with the mandibular arch than the values obtained when Moyer's formula was applied.ConclusionBoth Moyer's and Tanaka–Johnson's mixed analyses when applied to children in Chennai tended to show that predicted values were higher than actual values with no significant differences observed among the regression equations.How to cite this articleRavinthar K, Gurunathan D. Applicability of Different Mixed Dentition Analyses among Children Aged 11–13 Years in Chennai Population. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(2):163–166.

Potato Chips Advertisements: Its Influence and Buying Behavior Among Children in Chennai

Potato Chips Advertisements: Its Influence and Buying Behavior Among Children in Chennai

Prevalence of Root Canal Treatment in First Molars among Children in Chennai - An Institutional Retrospective Study

Prevalence of Root Canal Treatment in First Molars among Children in Chennai - An Institutional Retrospective Study

Dental caries and oral hygiene practices among school children in Chennai, India: a cross sectional study

Background: Dental caries is commonly seen among school children. The World Health Organization has stated it to be one of the leading non-communicable diseases. Objective of study the prevalence of dental caries among school children and to study the oral hygiene practices in the occurrence of dental caries.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 307 school children aged 10-15 years. Each child was asked about the dental hygiene practices and was examined for the presence of caries.Results: The prevalence of dental caries among school children was found to be 48.9 % with the 95% CI of 43.3% - 54.4%. The prevalence of dental caries was high among children 10-12 years of age 95(53.6%) compared to 55 (42.3%) among children in the age group of 13-15 years (p=0.05). Daily sweet consumption was significantly associated with a higher prevalence 40 (63.5%) of dental caries (p=0.01). Children not consuming vegetables and fruits everyday had a higher prevalence 76.5% dental caries (p = 0.03). Children who are not practicing night brushing had a higher prevalence of 112 (52.8%) of caries (p=0.04). The study showed that only 17.3% of the children visited a dental health care service.Conclusion: Authors found the prevalence of dental caries to be high. Health education regarding the importance of good oral hygiene practices such as night brushing, diet modification and periodic dental visits to all the school children will play a major role in the prevention of dental caries.