Syed Sadaf, Azam Iqbal, Jamalvi Waseem Ahmed, Khan Farhan Raza, Saleem Ali Faisal, Tikmani Shiyam S
Epidemiology and Biostatistics Section, Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Ruth KM PFau Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
BMJ Open. 2025 Jan 7;15(1):e092312. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-092312.
Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) and dental caries are prevalent diseases among Pakistani children. Limited research has been done to explore their association with permanent teeth. Given the caries susceptibility of permanent first molars and their role in the development of ideal occlusion, this study aimed to estimate caries frequency in these molars and assess its association with IDA in 7-12 year-old children.
This analytical cross-sectional study will include 141 children aged 7-12 years visiting physicians in the paediatric OPD of Dr. Ruth K.M. Pfau, Civil Hospital Karachi. Using consecutive sampling, children who met initial screening criteria were further evaluated to determine eligibility for the study. Data collection will involve physical examinations (including weight and height), oral examinations (including the relevant oral hygiene and caries assessments) and laboratory examinations (including the prescribed tests). In addition, questions will be asked about sociodemographic characteristics, history of IDA, oral hygiene habits, smokeless tobacco use and the frequency of cariogenic dietary consumption. Exposure variable will include the presence of IDA, assessed using complete blood count, C-reactive protein and ferritin tests and treated as a dichotomous variable. Outcome variable will include dental caries in at least one permanent first molar, assessed using the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth index and also treated as a dichotomous variable. Analysis will include Poisson regression with robust variance, reporting prevalence ratios with 95% CIs for the association of IDA and dental caries in the permanent first molars. Frequency of children with carious permanent first molars with 95% CIs will also be reported.
This research has been approved by ethical review committee of Aga Khan University (Reference number: 2024-9692-30593) and the institutional review board of Dow University of Health Sciences (IRB Reference: IRB-3556/DUHS/Approval/2024/196) before participant recruitment. Results will be disseminated through seminars and peer-reviewed publications.
缺铁性贫血（IDA）和龋齿是巴基斯坦儿童中的常见疾病。关于它们与恒牙之间关联的研究有限。鉴于恒牙第一磨牙的龋齿易感性及其在理想咬合发育中的作用，本研究旨在估计这些磨牙的龋齿发生率，并评估其与7至12岁儿童IDA的关联。
这项分析性横断面研究将纳入141名7至12岁在卡拉奇市民医院露丝·K·M·普法乌医生儿科门诊就诊的儿童。采用连续抽样，对符合初始筛查标准的儿童进行进一步评估以确定其是否符合研究资格。数据收集将包括体格检查（包括体重和身高）、口腔检查（包括相关口腔卫生和龋齿评估）以及实验室检查（包括规定的检测）。此外，还将询问有关社会人口学特征、IDA病史、口腔卫生习惯、无烟烟草使用情况以及致龋性饮食消费频率的问题。暴露变量将包括通过全血细胞计数、C反应蛋白和铁蛋白检测评估的IDA的存在情况，并将其视为二分变量。结局变量将包括至少一颗恒牙第一磨牙的龋齿情况，通过龋失补牙指数进行评估，同样视为二分变量。分析将包括稳健方差的泊松回归，报告IDA与恒牙第一磨牙龋齿关联的患病率比及95%置信区间。还将报告患龋齿的恒牙第一磨牙儿童的频率及95%置信区间。
本研究在招募参与者之前已获得阿迦汗大学伦理审查委员会（参考编号：2024 - 9692 - 30593）和道健康科学大学机构审查委员会（IRB参考编号：IRB - 3556/DUHS/Approval/2024/196）的批准。研究结果将通过研讨会和同行评审出版物进行传播。
