Protein-energy malnutrition during early childhood and periodontal disease in the permanent dentition of Haitian adolescents aged 12-19 years: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to examine whether exposure to early childhood protein-energy malnutrition (ECPEM) is related to worsened periodontal status in the permanent dentition during adolescence.

DESIGN

A trained clinician/researcher examined the periodontal status of 96 persons aged 12-19 living in rural Haiti using WHO diagnostic criteria (Community Periodontal Index, WHO 1997). Malnutrition data of the study participants had been collected during the years 1988-1993 by a nongovernmental organization. We compared those who had been malnourished in early childhood, based on z-scores for anthropomorphic data collected during the first 5 years of life, with those who had not been malnourished, regarding mean Community Periodontal Index (CPI) score, controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and smoking.

RESULTS

Overall, 57.3% of the participants demonstrated a CPI score of 3 or greater in at least one sextant. ECPEM was independently and positively related to mean CPI score, when controlling for sex and smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

More than half of these young Haitians demonstrated CPI scores of 3 or greater, and ECPEM was related to poorer periodontal status, as measured by CPI, in the permanent dentition.