Faramani Roya Safari, Ziaei Narges, Najafi Farid, Miryan Mahsa, Darbandi Mitra
Social Development and Health Promotion Research Center, Research Institute for Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
Periodontist, periodontology department, dental school, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
BMC Oral Health. 2025 May 23;25(1):778. doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-06164-2.
The underlying cause of poor oral health in women of reproductive age remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between caries experience and reproductive history, focusing on age at menarche, age at menopause, and number of pregnancies.
This cross-sectional study analyzed women from the baseline phase of the Ravansar Non-Communicable Disease (RaNCD) cohort. Data on reproductive history, including age at menarche, number of pregnancies, age at first pregnancy, and breastfeeding duration, were collected via questionnaire. The Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index was assessed using dental examinations conducted with standard instruments. Reproductive history was considered the exposure variable, while caries experience was the outcome. Statistical analyses, including t-tests, One-way ANOVA, and linear regression, were conducted to examine associations between reproductive history and oral health.
A total of 5,151 women were assessed, with a mean age of 47.56 ± 8.46 years. Of these 42.46% lived in rural areas. The mean DMFT score in the overall population was 16.47 ± 9.19. Women who used dental floss had a significantly lower median DMFT than those who did not (16 vs. 12, P < 0.001). In the adjusted model, DMFT increased significantly by 0.30 for each additional pregnancy (β = 0.30,95%CI:0.04,0.56). However, no significant associations were observed between age at menstruation, frequency of abortion, age at first pregnancy, or age at menopause and DMFT.
The findings indicate that the number of pregnancies is significantly associated with caries experience. Further, longitudinal studies are needed to replicate this study findings.
育龄女性口腔健康状况不佳的根本原因尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨龋齿经历与生殖史之间的关联，重点关注初潮年龄、绝经年龄和怀孕次数。
这项横断面研究分析了拉万萨尔非传染性疾病（RaNCD）队列基线阶段的女性。通过问卷调查收集生殖史数据，包括初潮年龄、怀孕次数、首次怀孕年龄和母乳喂养持续时间。使用标准器械进行牙科检查，评估龋失补牙（DMFT）指数。生殖史被视为暴露变量，而龋齿经历则为结果。进行了包括t检验、单因素方差分析和线性回归在内的统计分析，以检验生殖史与口腔健康之间的关联。
共评估了5151名女性，平均年龄为47.56±8.46岁。其中42.46%生活在农村地区。总体人群的平均DMFT评分为16.47±9.19。使用牙线的女性的DMFT中位数显著低于未使用牙线的女性（16对12，P<0.001）。在调整模型中，每次额外怀孕DMFT显著增加0.30（β=0.30，95%CI：0.04，0.56）。然而，在月经年龄、流产频率、首次怀孕年龄或绝经年龄与DMFT之间未观察到显著关联。
研究结果表明，怀孕次数与龋齿经历显著相关。此外，需要进行纵向研究来重复本研究结果。
