Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Independent Researcher, 15231 Athens, Greece.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 21;19(1):14. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010014.
Evidence regarding disparities in oral health among native and immigrant child and adolescent populations in Europe is scarce. The present study aimed to determine the caries status of 5-, 12-, and 15-year-olds with an immigrant background in Greece in relation to their sociodemographic characteristics and compare their caries levels with those of their native Greek peers. A sample of 707 immigrants underwent clinical examination for caries (ICDAS II criteria), followed by a calculation of caries prevalence and experience estimates (2013-2014). Multivariable regression models assessed the effect of ethnic background on the caries experience (dmfs/DMFS) of the total (707 immigrants and 3702 Greeks) population, and the association between parental education level and the immigrants' dmfs/DMFS. Among the 5- and 12-year-olds, those with an immigrant background demonstrated higher caries rates and had unfulfilled treatment needs at higher proportions. Among 15-year-old adolescents, no considerable differences in caries status were observed according to ethnic background (native Greek or immigrant). The strength of the association between immigrant background and caries experience levels attenuated gradually with increasing age (IRR = 1.61, 1.27 and 1.10, and = 0.001, = 0.006 and = 0.331 for 5-, 12- and 15-year-olds, respectively). Among the immigrants, adolescents with less educated mothers exhibited elevated caries levels. Public health strategies should prioritize immigrant children and early adolescents in order to reduce the existing ethnic disparities in oral health.
有关欧洲本土和移民儿童和青少年口腔健康差异的证据很少。本研究旨在确定希腊有移民背景的 5 岁、12 岁和 15 岁儿童的龋齿状况与其社会人口特征的关系，并将其龋齿水平与同龄的希腊本地儿童进行比较。对 707 名移民进行了龋齿临床检查（ICDAS II 标准），随后计算了龋齿患病率和患病经验估计值（2013-2014 年）。多变量回归模型评估了种族背景对总人群（707 名移民和 3702 名希腊人）龋齿经验（dmfs/DMFS）的影响，以及父母教育水平与移民 dmfs/DMFS 之间的关系。在 5 岁和 12 岁的儿童中，有移民背景的儿童龋齿率更高，未满足治疗需求的比例更高。在 15 岁的青少年中，根据种族背景（希腊本地或移民），龋齿状况没有明显差异。移民背景与龋齿经验水平之间的关联强度随着年龄的增长而逐渐减弱（IRR = 1.61、1.27 和 1.10， = 0.001、 = 0.006 和 = 0.331，分别用于 5 岁、12 岁和 15 岁的儿童）。在移民中，母亲受教育程度较低的青少年龋齿水平较高。公共卫生策略应优先考虑移民儿童和早期青少年，以减少口腔健康方面现有的种族差异。
