Decomposing Socioeconomic Inequality in Early Childhood Caries Among 3 to 5-Year-Old Children in China.
Int Dent J
; 74(5): 968-977, 2024 Oct.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38821780
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS:
Early childhood caries (ECC) is a widespread oral disease that harms children's health in China. Although previous studies have linked ECC prevalence to socioeconomic status, few have measured the degree of socioeconomic inequality. This study aimed to evaluate the socioeconomic inequality of ECC in children aged 3 to 5 years in China and identify the contributor to the inequality.METHODS:
We extracted data on 3 to 5-year-old children from the fourth National Oral Health Survey. We measured the inequality of ECC by the average household income per capita. We used the average household income per capita to measure the inequality of ECC. To describe inequality both qualitatively and quantitatively, we used the followingmethods:
concentration curve, Erreygers-corrected concentration index, relative index of inequality and slope index of inequality. We also applied a decomposition based on the probit model to identify the factors that contributed to inequality.RESULTS:
The prevalence of ECC in Chinese preschool children was 63.11% (95% CIs 60.54%, 65.61%). The negative value of the Erreygers-corrected concentration index (-0.0459; 95% CIs -0.0594, -0.0324), slope index of inequality (-0.0674; 95% CIs -0.0876, -0.0471) and the positive value of relative index of inequality (0.7484; 95% CIs 0.6856, 0.8169) all indicated that ECC prevalence was higher among children from low-income families. The main factors contributing to inequality were average household income, parents' educational level and living areas.CONCLUSION:
There is a pro-poor inequality in ECC among 3 to 5-year-old children in China. CLINICAL RELEVANCE To improve oral health equality, policymakers should focus more on children from low-income families, with less educated parents and living in rural areas.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Factores Socioeconómicos
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Caries Dental
Límite:
Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Male
País como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article