Division of Pediatric Dentistry, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.
Department of Child and Adolescent Studies and Center for Autism, California State University, Fullerton, California.
Spec Care Dentist. 2021 Mar;41(2):145-153. doi: 10.1111/scd.12564. Epub 2021 Jan 15.
To study correlates of oral health fatalism (OHF) in caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
This exploratory analysis used baseline data from 118 Medicaid-eligible families of children with ASD in a multi-site randomized clinical trial of a parent training intervention supporting home oral hygiene and dental visits. About half (46%) of caregivers agreed with the statement "most children eventually develop dental cavities," endorsing OHF. Hispanic caregivers more strongly endorsed OHF than non-Hispanics (cumulative odds ratio = 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-4.7, P = .014). Caregivers living alone with children less strongly endorsed OHF than caregivers cohabitating with other adults (cumulative odds ratio = 0.39, 95% CI 0.17-0.86, P = .019). Multivariable analysis maintained significance of ethnicity (P = .030) but not living situation (P = .052). Additional analyses included demographics, parenting beliefs, and children's oral hygiene and oral health status.
About half the caregivers endorsed OHF, with Hispanic caregivers more strongly endorsing OHF. OHF was not significantly associated with oral health behaviors or status, consistent with emerging literature suggesting fatalism is not necessarily linked to health behavior. Further exploration of OHF correlates in families of children with ASD is needed; ethnicity, living situation, child age, and caries status are of interest.
研究自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童照顾者口腔健康宿命论（OHF）的相关因素。
本探索性分析使用了一项支持家庭口腔卫生和牙科就诊的家长培训干预多地点随机临床试验中 118 名符合医疗补助条件的 ASD 儿童家庭的基线数据。大约一半（46%）的照顾者同意“大多数孩子最终会出现龋齿”这一说法，即支持 OHF。西班牙裔照顾者比非西班牙裔照顾者更强烈地支持 OHF（累积优势比=2.4，95%置信区间[CI]：1.2-4.7，P=0.014）。与与其他成年人同住的照顾者相比，独自与孩子同住的照顾者对 OHF 的认可度较低（累积优势比=0.39，95%CI 0.17-0.86，P=0.019）。多变量分析保持了种族的显著性（P=0.030），但没有保持生活状况的显著性（P=0.052）。其他分析包括人口统计学、育儿信仰以及儿童的口腔卫生和口腔健康状况。
大约一半的照顾者支持 OHF，西班牙裔照顾者更强烈地支持 OHF。OHF 与口腔健康行为或状况没有显著相关性，这与新兴文献表明宿命论不一定与健康行为相关的观点一致。需要进一步探索 ASD 儿童家庭中 OHF 的相关因素；种族、生活状况、儿童年龄和龋齿状况是研究的重点。
