Socioeconomic Inequalities in Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption: A National Ecological Study in Mexican Adolescents.

Alcohol and cigarettes are the psychoactive substances that adolescents use most frequently. When both addictions are combined, they carry the worst burden of disease globally. The objective of this study was to identify whether socioeconomic factors correlate with alcohol and tobacco consumption in Mexican adolescents aged 10 years or more and to establish the relationship in the consumption between the two substances. This ecological study utilized data describing alcohol and tobacco consumption among adolescents aged 10-16 years (n = 48,837 ≈ N = 11,621,100). Having ever consumed any alcohol-containing beverage constituted alcohol consumption. Smoking a cigarette within 30 days constituted cigarette consumption. For both variables, the state-level percentages reported in the survey were used. Diverse socioeconomic variables were collected from official sources. Data on the prevalence of tobacco use and alcohol consumption were entered into an Excel database estimated for each of the states of the Mexican Republic, as well as the socioeconomic variables. We performed the analysis using Stata 14. Consumption prevalence was 15.0% for alcohol and 4.2% for tobacco. Alcohol consumption was not correlated with any studied socioeconomic variable (p > 0.05). The prevalence of tobacco consumption among elementary school students correlated (p < 0.05) with the portion of the population living in private dwellings without sewage, drainage, or sanitation (r = 0.3853). The prevalence of tobacco consumption among middle-school adolescents correlated with the portion of the employed population that earned up to two minimum wages (r = 0.3960), the percentage in poverty by income 2008 (r = 0.4754) and 2010 (r = 0.4531), and the percentage in extreme poverty by income 2008 (r = 0.4612) and 2010 (r = 0.4291). Positive correlations were found between tobacco consumption and alcohol consumption among both elementary (r = 0.5762, p=0.0006) and middle-school children (r = 0.7016, p=0.0000). These results suggest that certain socioeconomic factors correlate with tobacco consumption but not alcohol consumption. A correlation between alcohol consumption and tobacco consumption was observed. The results can be used for developing interventions in adolescents.

Comparative Analysis of Edentulism in a Sample of Mexican Adults with and without Type 2 Diabetes.

The objective of the present study was to compare the prevalence of edentulism in Mexican adults with and without a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) when they are seeking dental care. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1921 medical records of Mexican adults 40 years of age and older who sought dental care at clinics of a public university in Mexico. The dependent variable was edentulism, clinically determined through an oral examination. The main independent variable was the self-report of previous T2DM diagnosis made by a physician. Sociodemographic, socioeconomic and behavioral covariates were included in a multivariate binary logistic regression model. Overall edentulism prevalence was 8.4% (95% CI = 7.1-9.6). The prevalence of T2DM was 14.3% (n = 274). The prevalence of edentulism among individuals with T2DM was 13.1%, but only 7.6% among individuals without T2DM. In the multivariate binary logistic regression model, a previous T2DM diagnosis increased the probability of being edentulous 1.61 times (95% CI = 1.03-2.50). For each year a person's age increased, the likelihood of being edentulous increased by 12% (95% CI = 10-14%). In summary, a higher prevalence of edentulism was present in Mexican adults with T2DM and in those of older age. This information may be used by dental care providers and health policymakers to improve approaches to preventive care, as well as to characterize and anticipate care needs more accurately for the adult and older adult populations.

Experience and Prevalence of Dental Caries in 6 to 12-Year-Old School Children in an Agricultural Community: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the experience and prevalence of dental caries in schoolchildren aged 6-12 years belonging to agricultural manual worker households. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in two groups of schoolchildren: One considered "children of agricultural worker migrant parents" (n = 157) and the other "children of agricultural worker non-migrant parents" (n = 164). Epidemiological indices for dental caries were calculated for primary (dmft) and permanent (DMFT) dentitions, and compared in terms of age, sex, and the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (SOHI). Two binary logistic regression models for caries prevalence in primary and permanent dentitions were generated in Stata. RESULTS: For primary dentition, we observed the following dmft index: Non-migrants = 1.73 ± 2.18 vs. migrants = 1.68 ± 2.14. Additionally, we recorded the following caries prevalence: Non-migrants = 59.1% vs. migrants = 51.3%. For permanent dentition, we observed the following DMFT index: Non-migrants = 0.32 ± 0.81 vs. migrants = 0.29 ± 0.95. Further, we recorded the following caries prevalence: Non-migrants = 17.6% vs. migrants = 12.8%. No differences were observed for either dentition (p > 0.05) in caries indices and their components or in caries prevalence. When both caries indices (dmft and DMFT) were combined, the non-migrant group had a higher level of caries experience than the migrant group (p < 0.05). No relationship (p > 0.05) with migrant status was observed in either multivariate models of caries prevalence. However, age did exhibit an association (p < 0.05) with caries. Only the plaque component of SOHI was associated (p < 0.05) with caries in permanent dentition. CONCLUSIONS: Although over half of school children from agricultural manual worker households had caries in either or both dentitions and a considerable proportion were untreated lesions, the prevalence levels were somewhat lower than other reports from Mexico in similar age groups. No statistically significant differences were found in caries experience or prevalence in either dentition between non-migrant and migrant groups.

Association of Edentulism with Various Chronic Diseases in Mexican Elders 60+ Years: Results of a Population-Based Survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of edentulism with different chronic diseases and mental disorders in Mexicans aged 60 years and over. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out using data from the World Health Survey for Mexico, in a probabilistic, multi-stage cluster sampling framework. Data for self-report of chronic diseases (diabetes, arthritis, angina pectoris and asthma), mental disorders (depression and schizophrenia) and edentulism were analyzed. Edentulism data were available for 20 of the 32 States of Mexico. Statistical analysis was performed in Stata 14.0 using the svy module for complex sampling (Complex nature under which individuals are sampled). RESULTS: In total 4213 subjects were included, representing a population of 7,576,057 individuals. Mean age was 70.13 ± 7.82 years (range 60 to 98); 56.2% were women. Chronic diseases' prevalence and mental disorders prevalence were as follows: diabetes 15.0% (N = 1,132,693); arthritis 13.2% (N = 1,001,667); depression 5.5% (N = 414,912); angina pectoris 4.5% (344,315); asthma 3.6% (N = 269,287); and schizophrenia 2.2% (N = 16,988). The prevalence of edentulism was 26.3%, which pertained to 1,993,463 people aged 60 years and over. Angina in women aged 60 to 69 years (p < 0.05) and depression in men aged 70 years and over (p < 0.0001) were associated with higher prevalence of edentulism. CONCLUSIONS: There was generally sparse association between edentulism on chronic diseases and mental disorders included in the study, except for women aged 60 to 69 years for angina, and in men aged 70 and over, for depression. Although our findings are misaligned with previous reports, longitudinal studies are required to test causal and temporal relationships between edentulism with chronic diseases and mental disorders.

Self-Reported Dental Caries by Mexican Elementary and Middle-School Schoolchildren in the Context of Socioeconomic Indicators: A National Ecological Study.

The objective of the present research was to quantify the association between dental caries self-report and socioeconomic indicators in Mexican children. An ecological study included a self-report of dental caries in schoolchildren enrolled in public elementary and middle schools derived from the National School Health Survey. A total of 73,560 schoolchildren (representing 19,745,366 students) aged 5 to 16 years were included. Socioeconomic variables included were scales depicting physical characteristics of housing, purchasing power, etc. used in national surveys in Mexico to measure deprivation, poverty, and income inequality in official data. Data were analyzed in Stata using Spearman's correlation test. For the most part, no association (p > 0.05) was found between caries self-report, socioeconomic variables, or the Gini index. However, caries self-report in elementary schoolchildren and total (elementary + middle-school) schoolchildren groups was positively correlated (p < 0.05) with two poverty variables: extreme poverty by income (value of personal food purchases per month) and poverty by income (value of personal food and non-food purchases per month). National data for dental caries self-report were associated-at the ecological level-with a few socioeconomic indicators but not with most of the usual and customary indicators used in national surveys in Mexico.