Does social vulnerability for caries predict caries status of children in sub-urban Nigeria?

ABSTRACT

It is important to identify groups of people vulnerable to a disease condition. Aim: To determine theassociation between social vulnerability to caries and caries status of children in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.Methods: A composite vulnerability index for caries was developed using data generated for 992children. Wilks’ Lambda test to verify relationship between vulnerability and its variables. Logisticregression analysis was conducted to determine if the social vulnerability for caries index was agood predictor for caries status. Results: The social vulnerability to caries index could not predictcaries status. The study found that sex, age and number of siblings were the significant predictorsof caries status in the study population. Females (AOR 1.63; 95%CI 1.08 – 2.46; p=0.02) andchildren with more than two siblings had higher odds of having caries (AOR 2.61; 95%CI 1.61 –4.24; p<0.001) while children below 5 years had lower odds of having caries (AOR 0.62; 95%CI0.39 – 1.00; p=0.05) Conclusions: The social vulnerability index for caries could not predict thecaries status of children in the study population. Sensitive tools to identify children with caries inthe study population should be developed.