Refugee and Immigrant Health Program, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 300 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2013 Aug;103(8):1516-23. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300885. Epub 2013 Jan 17.
We assessed the impact of health literacy and acculturation on oral health status of Somali refugees in Massachusetts.
Between December 2009 and June 2011, we surveyed 439 adult Somalis who had lived in the United States 10 years or less. Assessments included oral examinations with decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) counts and measurement of spoken English and health literacy. We tested associations with generalized linear regression models.
Participants had means of 1.4 decayed, 2.8 missing, and 1.3 filled teeth. Among participants who had been in the United States 0 to 4 years, lower health literacy scores correlated with lower DMFT (rate ratio [RR] = 0.78; P = .016). Among participants who had been in the country 5 to 10 years, lower literacy scores correlated with higher DMFT (RR = 1.37; P = .012). Literacy was not significantly associated with decayed teeth. Lower literacy scores correlated marginally with lower risk of periodontal disease (odds ratio = 0.22; P = .047).
Worsening oral health of Somali refugees over time may be linked to less access to preventive care and less utilization of beneficial oral hygiene practices.
我们评估了健康素养和文化适应对马萨诸塞州索马里难民口腔健康状况的影响。
在 2009 年 12 月至 2011 年 6 月期间，我们调查了 439 名在美国生活了 10 年或更短时间的成年索马里人。评估包括口腔检查，记录龋齿、缺失和填充的牙齿（DMFT）数量，以及英语口语和健康素养的测量。我们使用广义线性回归模型测试了相关性。
参与者的平均龋齿数为 1.4，平均缺失牙数为 2.8，平均填充牙数为 1.3。在美国生活了 0 到 4 年的参与者中，健康素养得分较低与 DMFT 较低相关（相对风险[RR] = 0.78；P = .016）。在美国生活了 5 到 10 年的参与者中，文化程度较低与 DMFT 较高相关（RR = 1.37；P = .012）。文化程度与龋齿无显著相关性。文化程度较低与牙周病风险降低相关，但相关性仅为边缘性的（比值比 = 0.22；P = .047）。
索马里难民的口腔健康状况随着时间的推移而恶化，可能与获得预防保健的机会减少以及利用有益的口腔卫生习惯的机会减少有关。
