Moeller Jamie, Quiñonez Carlos
Discipline of Dental Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Discipline of Dental Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Int J Health Serv. 2016 Oct;46(4):790-809. doi: 10.1177/0020731416635078. Epub 2016 Mar 14.
Societies exhibiting higher levels of economic inequality experience poorer health outcomes, and the proposed pathways used to explain these patterns are also relevant to oral health. This study therefore examines the relationship between the level of income inequality and the oral health and dental care services utilization of residents from eleven Canadian metropolitan areas. We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients (r) between each metropolitan area's Gini coefficient (used as a proxy for income inequality, calculated from 2006 Canadian census data) and each area's experience of dental pain, self-reported oral health, and use of dental care services (provided by data from the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey). Greater levels of income inequality in the selected metropolitan areas were related to an increased likelihood of residents self-reporting their oral health as poor/fair and reporting a prolonged absence from visiting a dentist. There was, however, no relationship between the level of income inequality and the likelihood of respondents reporting a recent toothache, tooth sensitivity, or jaw pain. Policies designed to improve the oral health of the population, and Canadians' access to dental care generally, may therefore work best when supported by policies that promote greater economic equality within Canada.
经济不平等程度较高的社会，其健康状况较差，而用于解释这些模式的既定途径也与口腔健康相关。因此，本研究考察了加拿大11个大都市区居民的收入不平等程度与口腔健康及牙科护理服务利用情况之间的关系。我们计算了每个大都市区的基尼系数（用作收入不平等的指标，根据2006年加拿大人口普查数据计算得出）与每个地区的牙痛经历、自我报告的口腔健康状况以及牙科护理服务使用情况（数据来自2003年加拿大社区健康调查）之间的皮尔逊相关系数（r）。所选大都市区收入不平等程度越高，居民自我报告口腔健康状况为差/一般以及报告长时间未看牙医的可能性就越大。然而，收入不平等程度与受访者报告近期牙痛、牙齿敏感或颌痛的可能性之间没有关系。因此，旨在改善民众口腔健康以及加拿大人总体上获得牙科护理机会的政策，在得到促进加拿大更大经济平等的政策支持时，可能效果最佳。
