Association between body mass index and dental caries among public primary school pupils in a southern-Nigerian metropolis

Abstract

Background: The relationships between BMI and caries have been observed in many previous studies. Some studies have reported that normal and underweight children were at higher risk for dental caries compared to those who were overweight. Conversely, other studies have also reported that overweight/obese children were at higher risk. Yet, others concluded there was no association between BMI and dental caries. However, this information is sparse among children in South-South, Nigeria. Objectives: To determine the relationships between BMI status and dental caries among public primary school children in Port Harcourt. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study among selected primary school pupils in Port Harcourt. Information elicited included socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of refined sugar consumption. BMI was calculated using the following formula: weight in kg/ height in meters squared. Based on BMI scores, the children were classified into four categories; underweight (BMI ≤5th percentile), normal weight (BMI >5th and ˂85th percentile), overweight (BMI ≥85th and ˂95th percentile), and obese (BMI ≥95th percentile). Oral examination was conducted to assess for dental caries, which was recorded using DMFT/dmft index. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and the level of significance was p<0.05 Results: One hundred and eighty-nine pupils participated, comprising 100(52.9%) females and 89(47.1%) males, with a median age of 11 years. Prevalence of caries was 13.8%. The mean DMFT/dmft among the children was 1.6 (±0.9). Mother’s and Father’s levels of education were the statistically significant factors (p = 0.01). BMI was however not statistically significant (p = 0.06). Conclusion: BMI was not statistically significant in its association with dental caries, but more of normal and overweight children were prone to dental caries compared to the underweight children.