Caries experience by socio-behavioural characteristics in HIV-1-infected and uninfected Ugandan mothers – a multilevel analysis

Abstract

Objectives: To assess caries experience in Ugandan mothers according to HIV status, socio-behavioural-characteristics, gingival bleeding status and to examine whether HIV status impacts the association of socio-behavioural characteristics with caries experience. Third, using multilevel analysis, this study assessed to what extent surface-specific caries experience varied between and within individuals. Materials and methods: Caries experience was recorded using the World Health Organization's Decayed, Missed and Filled Teeth/Surfaces indices from a cohort of 164 HIV-1-infected Ugandan mothers and a cross sectional comparison group of 181 negative controls. Mixed-effects logistic regression was conducted with surface-specific caries experience as the outcome variable. Results: The prevalence of caries in HIV-1-infected and uninfected mothers was 81% and 71%, respectively. Significant associations occurred between caries experience at surface level and women's increasing age (odds ratio [OR] ¼ 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-2.8) and presence of gingival bleeding (OR ¼ 2.0, 95% CI: 1.2-3.2). Intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficient amounted to 0.54 (95% CI 0.48-0.59). Conclusions: Caries prevalence was higher in HIV-1 infected than in uninfected mothers and increased with age and gingival bleeding. ICC indicated that 54% of the variance was attributable to variation between individuals. Socio-demographic differences in dental caries did not vary by HIV-1 status.

Prevalence of dental caries and associated risk factors among HIV-positive and HIV-negative adults at an HIV clinic in Kigali, Rwanda

“…The higher prevalence of caries in HIV+ adults than in HIV-individuals is similar to results by other scholars in developed and developing countries [16,[18][19][20].…”

“…The higher prevalence of caries in HIV+ adults than in HIV-individuals is similar to results by other scholars in developed and developing countries [16,18–20]. Untreated dental caries or decay (D) was also more prevalent in HIV+ participants 47(23.5%) than in HIV-individuals 27(13.6%).…”

Prevalence, correlates and treatment needs of dental caries among people on antiretroviral therapy in Uganda: a cross sectional study

“…Our findings of a high prevalence of dental carries is similar to what was found in an urban population in Uganda on ART [ 6 ], in which the majority of participants (65.6%) were female and were young with mean age of 39 years. In another study on women living with HIV and on ART carried out in Eastern Uganda, those who had dental caries, were also young with mean age of 35 years [ 22 ]. Two thirds of our study participants (67%) had dental caries (DMFT > 0).…”

“…This is similar to those found by Kalanzi et al (2019) who found a high overall prevalence of 83.7% and a higher prevalence among females 86.6% than males 78.2% [ 6 ]. Birungi and others (2021) also found a high prevalence of dental caries (81%) in a rural population of HIV positive women [ 22 ]. The reasons as to why women in this study population have a higher prevalence of dental caries than men are not clear but may be due to differences in snacking, oral hygiene and dietary habits thus a need for further research in this area.…”

Prevalence of dental caries and associated risk factors among People Living with HIV/AIDS and HIV uninfected adults at an HIV clinic in Kigali, Rwanda

“…Oral health is an integral part of overall health and it is strongly associated with systemic conditions [ 1 ] including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) [ 2 ], Alzheimer’s disease [ 3 ], cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity [ 4 ]. The prevalence of caries is higher among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) than among the general population [ 2 , 5 – 7 ]. Therefore, effective treatment of PLWHA should include oral diseases management.…”