Burgette J M, Rezaie A
Departments of Dental Public Health and Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
JDR Clin Trans Res. 2020 Jul;5(3):254-261. doi: 10.1177/2380084419875441. Epub 2019 Sep 6.
There is evidence that dental caries is both increased and decreased in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
This study examined the association between ASD and the probability of a child having caregiver-reported dental caries based on a nationally representative sample. We hypothesized that when compared with children without ASD, children with ASD would have greater odds of dental caries.
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health. Caregivers reported whether a health provider informed them that their children had ASD and "decayed teeth or cavities" during the past 12 mo. We used logistic regression controlling for child characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance, preventive dental use) and family characteristics (education and federal poverty level).
Among the 45,155 children in our sample, 1,228 (2.5%) had ASD. The prevalence of caregiver-reported dental caries was 14.7% in children with ASD and 9.5% in children without ASD. The odds of having caregiver-reported child dental caries (adjusted odds ratio = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.2 to 1.7) was greater among children with ASD than children without ASD when controlling for the aforementioned covariates.
Using a nationally representative sample, we found that children with ASD had significantly greater odds of having caregiver-reported dental caries as compared with children without ASD. Families can be educated on the increased odds of having dental caries in children with ASD. Moreover, this finding highlights a need for oral health services and policies to prevent and treat dental caries, which are tailored to the increasing number of American children with ASD.
The results of this study support the need for policy makers, clinicians, and families to improve oral health services that prevent and treat dental caries in the increasing number of American children with autism spectrum disorder.
有证据表明，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的龋齿患病率既有增加的情况，也有减少的情况。
本研究基于全国代表性样本，探讨了ASD与照料者报告的儿童患龋齿可能性之间的关联。我们假设，与无ASD的儿童相比，患有ASD的儿童患龋齿的几率更高。
我们对2016年全国儿童健康调查进行了横断面分析。照料者报告在过去12个月内，是否有医疗服务提供者告知他们其子女患有ASD以及有“蛀牙或龋齿”。我们使用逻辑回归分析，对儿童特征（年龄、性别、种族/民族、保险、预防性牙科就诊情况）和家庭特征（教育程度和联邦贫困水平）进行了控制。
在我们样本中的45,155名儿童中，1,228名（2.5%）患有ASD。照料者报告的ASD儿童龋齿患病率为14.7%，无ASD儿童为9.5%。在控制上述协变量后，患有ASD的儿童出现照料者报告的儿童龋齿的几率（调整后的优势比=1.4，95%可信区间=1.2至1.7）高于无ASD的儿童。
通过全国代表性样本，我们发现与无ASD的儿童相比，患有ASD的儿童出现照料者报告的龋齿的几率显著更高。可以让家庭了解ASD儿童患龋齿几率增加的情况。此外，这一发现凸显了针对美国越来越多的ASD儿童，需要制定预防和治疗龋齿的口腔健康服务及政策。
本研究结果支持政策制定者、临床医生和家庭有必要改善口腔健康服务，以预防和治疗美国越来越多的自闭症谱系障碍儿童的龋齿。
