Tanaka Keiko, Miyake Yoshihiro, Arakawa Masashi, Sasaki Satoshi, Ohya Yukihiro
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
J Asthma. 2008 Nov;45(9):795-9. doi: 10.1080/02770900802252119.
Dental caries is an infectious disease and is highly prevalent among children. In the etiology of allergic diseases, the hygiene hypothesis contends that infections might confer protection against the development of allergic diseases. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between dental caries and the prevalence of allergic disorders.
Study subjects were 21,792 children 6 to 15 years of age in Okinawa, Japan. Outcomes were based on diagnostic criteria from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Data on dental caries were obtained from school records. Children were classified as having dental caries if one or more teeth had decayed and/or had been filled. Adjustment was made for sex, age, region of residence, number of siblings, smoking in the household, paternal and maternal history of asthma, atopic eczema, or allergic rhinitis, and paternal and maternal educational level.
The prevalence of wheeze, asthma, atopic eczema, and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in the previous 12 months was 10.8%, 7.6%, 6.8%, and 7.6%, respectively. In an overall analysis, no measurable relationship was found between dental caries and the prevalence of wheeze, asthma, atopic eczema, or allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. However, dental caries was significantly inversely associated with the prevalence of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis only among children with a positive parental allergic history: The adjusted odds ratio was 0.84 (95% confidence interval: 0.72, 0.99).
The present findings do not support the hypothesis that dental caries was protective against allergic diseases. However, a parental allergic history may affect the association between dental caries and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.
龋齿是一种感染性疾病，在儿童中非常普遍。在过敏性疾病的病因学中，卫生假说认为感染可能对过敏性疾病的发生具有保护作用。这项横断面研究的目的是调查龋齿与过敏性疾病患病率之间的关联。
研究对象为日本冲绳县21792名6至15岁的儿童。结局基于儿童哮喘和过敏国际研究的诊断标准。龋齿数据来自学校记录。如果一颗或多颗牙齿出现龋坏和/或已进行填充，则将儿童归类为患有龋齿。对性别、年龄、居住地区、兄弟姐妹数量、家庭吸烟情况、父母哮喘、特应性湿疹或过敏性鼻炎病史以及父母教育水平进行了调整。
在过去12个月中，喘息、哮喘、特应性湿疹和过敏性鼻结膜炎的患病率分别为10.8%、7.6%、6.8%和7.6%。在总体分析中，未发现龋齿与喘息、哮喘、特应性湿疹或过敏性鼻结膜炎患病率之间存在可测量的关系。然而，仅在父母有过敏史阳性的儿童中，龋齿与过敏性鼻结膜炎的患病率显著呈负相关：调整后的优势比为0.84（95%置信区间：0.72, 0.99）。
目前的研究结果不支持龋齿对过敏性疾病具有保护作用的假说。然而，父母的过敏史可能会影响龋齿与过敏性鼻结膜炎之间的关联。
