Is obesity associated with tooth loss due to caries?: A cross-sectional study

Aim: To investigate the association between obesity, overweight, and tooth loss due to caries among university students of (Federal University of Pelotas) in southern Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study with all first-year students who regularly enrolled in the first semester of 2016 who were invited to respond to a self-administered questionnaire contain socioeconomic and demographic; psychosocial; oral health; behavioral questions. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated through the self-reported data of weight and height. The main outcome of the present study was determined by the person’s that answer having had at least one tooth extracted due to caries. A Poisson regression using a backward stepwise procedure was performed. Two models were tested: i) including socioeconomic and behavioral variables; ii) without behavioral variables. Results: From 3,237 eligible students, 2,089 (64.5%) participated in the present study. Almost 23% of students presented overweight and 8.4% obesity, whereas 362 individuals (17.5%) reported having had at least one tooth extracted due to caries. Regarding the final model adjusted by behavioral variables, it was observed that obese university students presented a 32.0% higher prevalence of tooth loss (PR=0.32,CI95%[1.17–1.49]). However, overweight was not associated with tooth loss in the present sample. When the model was not associated with behavioral variables, overweight was associated with tooth loss (PR=1.44; CI95%[1.15–1.81]), just as obesity (PR=2.13; CI95%[1.63 – 2.78]). Conclusions: Obesity and overweight were associated with tooth loss due to caries in the present sample of university students.