Background: Dental caries constitute a public health burden globally. They occur when the balance between their protective factors and risk factors is disturbed. The aim of the study was to determine the predictors of dental caries among adults and adolescents in a dental clinic in northeastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A case-control study design was used, with cases drawn from the dental clinic, and controls from the general outpatient unit of the same hospital. Systematic random sampling was used to select both cases and controls. Those selected from the dental clinic underwent a thorough oral examination, using the specific caries index and were included into the study if they had any of a decayed, missing, or filled tooth. Those selected from the outpatient clinic were examined in a similar manner, and were included into the study as controls, once they did not have a decayed, missing, or filled tooth. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on respondents' socio-demographic characteristics and oral care habits. Chi-square test was used to compare the sociodemographic characteristics of the groups and to test the association between dental caries and oral care habits. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of dental caries. Result: A total of 124 respondents were recruited into this study, comprising of 59 respondents with dental caries (cases), and 65 without dental caries (controls). Their ages ranged from 15 to 63 years. Daily teeth cleaning (OR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.11-0.97; p=0.044), and teeth cleaning after every meal (OR=0.28, 95% CI: 0.10-0.78; p=0.015), were associated with lower odds of having dental caries. Tooth ache was the major reason for visiting the dentist, among both cases (78.6%) and controls (68.6%). Conclusion: The study emphasizes the very important role of oral hygiene in preventing dental caries. The study also suggests that with very frequent teeth cleaning, refined sugars may not pose additional risks of developing dental caries.

Background Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which is a medical complication that develops during pregnancy, is associated with several long-term health problems. Despite several benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), including reduction in long-term health problems in mothers with GDM, few studies have investigated breastfeeding in women with GDM and information in the Thai population is lacking. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of breastfeeding and the factors associated with breastfeeding during the first six months postpartum in women with GDM. Methods A questionnaire-based prospective study was conducted during November 2014 to June 2017. Study participants were first interviewed on the second day post-delivery, and then by telephone at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months postpartum. Breastfeeding assessment based on infant feeding practice in the last 24-h period was classified according to World Health Organization definitions. Results A total 229 women were enrolled in this study. Prevalence of any breastfeeding at 24 h, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum was 28.8% ( n = 66), 94.3% ( n = 214), 71% ( n = 154), and 49.8% ( n = 104), respectively. Prevalence of EBF was 35.9% ( n = 78) at 3 months, and 23% ( n = 48) at 6 months after delivery. Maternal intention to breastfeed for 6 months was an independent predictor for both 6 months EBF (RR 16.38; 95% CI 2.29, 116.99) and any breastfeeding (RR 2.65; 95% CI 1.65, 4.25). Breastfeeding initiation within 24 h postpartum (RR 1.38; 95% CI 1.08, 1.76) and being a government officer or private business owner (RR 1.66; 95% CI 1.03, 2.68) were independent predictors of any breastfeeding and EBF for 6 months, respectively. Conclusion The prevalence of breastfeeding in Thai women with GDM was lower than the national and global target goal. Maternal intention to breastfeed for at least 6 months and breastfeeding initiation were important factors associated with 6 months’ breastfeeding. In order to improve the breastfeeding rate and duration, health care providers should support women’s feeding decision, emphasize the benefits of breastfeeding to enhance breastfeeding intention, seek to remove or minimize barriers to the initiation of breastfeeding and reduce mother-infant separation time.

There are only a few studies performed on multinomial logistic regression on the benzene-exposed occupational group. A study was carried out to assess the relationship between the benzene concentration and trans-trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA), biomarkers in urine samples from petrol filling workers. A total of 117 workers involved in this occupation were selected for this current study. Generally, logistic regression analysis (LR) is a common statistical technique that could be used to predict the likelihood of categorical or binary or dichotomous outcome variables. The multinomial logistic regression equations were used to predict the relationship between benzene concentration and t,t-MA. The results showed a significant correlation between benzene and t,t-MA among the petrol fillers. Prediction equations were estimated by adopting the physical characteristic viz., age, experience in years and job categories of petrol filling station workers. Interestingly, there was no significant difference observed among experience in years. Petrol fillers and cashiers having a higher occupational risk were in the age group of ≤24 and between 25 and 34 years. Among the petrol fillers, the t,t-MA levels with exceeding ACGIH TWA-TLV level was showing to be more significant. This study demonstrated that multinomial logistic regression is an effective model for profiling the greatest risk of the benzene-exposed group caused by different explanatory variables.