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Interrelation between obesity, oral health and life-style factors among Turkish school children

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Abstract

Obesity, dental caries and periodontal diseases are among major public health concerns which may affect children’s growth and development. This study seeks any clustering between obesity, oral health and life-style factors among school children in Istanbul, Turkey. A cross-sectional study of children, 10- to 12-year-olds, from a public and a private school was undertaken with questionnaires for children and their mothers and child oral health data, in Istanbul (n = 611). DMFS (number of decayed, missing and filled surfaces of permanent teeth), CPI (Community Periodontal Index), body mass index (BMI) and life-style factors (tooth-brushing frequency, milk consumption at breakfast and bedtimes on school nights) of children were examined. Data analysis included factor analysis, Student’s t test and Chi-square tests by cross-tabulation. Public school children were more dentally diseased but less obese than were those in private school (P < 0.001). They more frequently had calculus (62%) and reported non-recommended tooth-brushing (68%) than did those in private school (37%, 56%; P < 0.05). Principal component analysis revealed that DMFS, CPI and BMI shared the same cluster among all children. A need exists for addressing obesity, oral health and nutrition jointly in health promotion strategies to improve children’s well-being and empower good life-style factors.

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Acknowledgements

We express our deepest thanks to Professor Nuket Sandalli for her support during the research process and to Turkish colleague Dr. Sule Kavaloglu for her help during the clinical examinations in Turkey.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Dentistry, Institute of Odontology, University of Copenhagen, Norre Alle 20, DK-2200, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ayse Basak Cinar

  2. Department of Oral Public Health, Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, Mannerheimintie 172, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Heikki Murtomaa

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  1. Ayse Basak Cinar
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  2. Heikki Murtomaa
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Correspondence to Ayse Basak Cinar.

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Cinar, A.B., Murtomaa, H. Interrelation between obesity, oral health and life-style factors among Turkish school children. Clin Oral Invest 15, 177–184 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-009-0368-z

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