Evaluation of the Relationship Between Socio-economic Environment and Oro-dental Health of Children in Diourbel Health District in Senegal

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the socio economic environment influence on oral health of children in the sanitary district of Diourbel to formulate recommendations for its improvement by conducting a descriptive cross-section study. Data were registered and analyzed using Epi Info 6.04 d release. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with dependant variables. On a theoretical target of 1600 children, 1237 have been examined: 508 in urban area and 729 in rural area. The children of the rural area were significantly younger, more scholarized, and from poorer families. They were statistically sicker than those of the urban area. Oro-dental affections were more frequent among the children of age less than nine years, no scholarized, and living in poor families. The oro-dental affections prevalence is linked to the socioeconomic environment. This confirms the correlation between bad health and poverty in one hand, and between good health and development in other hand. In the WHO international classification of the diseases, the most important death factor is extreme poverty. It exercises its harmful influence at all the stages of human life, since the conception to the death. Unfortunately, most of the world inhabitants are located facing the double threatens of poverty and in equity, and the double blight of suffering and disease. Oral Pathology represents a real public health problem, more frequent in rural areas. Thus, a multisectoral strategy with a longitudinal follow-up is needed to improve the oral health of children.