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Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between preventative dental practices and cardiometabolic health in adolescents., Method and Materials: Analysis included children aged 13 to 17 years enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2018 who completed an Oral Health Examination and Questionnaire. Deferred dental care was defined as not having a dental visit in the past year. Financial barriers to seeking dental care (vs no financial barriers) were assessed among those with deferred dental care in the past year. Primary cardiometabolic outcomes included obesity, elevated blood pressure, and hypertensive blood pressure. Secondary outcomes included dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, uric acid, glomerular hyperfiltration, and albuminuria. Regression models adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, food insecurity, health insurance status, household education, and body mass index z-score examined associations using complex survey design procedures., Results: Of 2,861 adolescents, 17.6% (SE 0.9%) did not receive dental care in the past year and 20.2% (SE 1.9%) had a financial barrier to accessing dental care. In adjusted regression models, adolescents with deferred dental care had higher odds of dyslipidemia (odds ratio [OR]= 1.51, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.11, P = .020). Having a financial barrier was associated with lower odds of dyslipidemia (OR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.89, P = .03). Financial barriers were associated with lower non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (b = -7.95, 95% CI -14.87 to -1.05, P = .03) and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (b = 3.06, 95% CI 0.37 to 5.75, P = .03) in adjusted models. Deferred dental care and financial barriers were not associated with any other cardiometabolic parameters., Conclusion: In this nationally representative cohort of adolescents, there was an association between lack of preventative dental care and the cardiometabolic health marker of dyslipidemia. However, financial barriers to dental care were surprisingly associated with higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and lower odds of dyslipidemia.

Background and Aims: To assess the association between dental caries and cardiometabolic risk in adolescents., Methods and Results: The analysis included adolescents aged 13-17 years enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2018 who completed an Oral Health Examination. Untreated caries was defined as having one or more decayed teeth. Caries experience was assessed by Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) score. Primary cardiometabolic outcomes included elevated BP (defined as BP 120-129/<80 mmHg) and hypertensive BP (defined as BP ≥ 130/80 mmHg). Secondary cardiometabolic outcomes included obesity, dyslipidemia (defined as any abnormal lipid level), glucose intolerance (measured by HOMA-IR), and microalbuminuria (defined as urine albumin: creatinine ≥30 mg/mg). Adjusted linear and logistic models examined associations using complex survey design procedures. In the sample of 2861 adolescents, 25.6 % (1.3 %) had untreated caries. 55.4 % (1.3 %) had DMFT ≥1. In adjusted regression analyses, untreated caries status was not significantly associated with primary outcomes of elevated BP (OR = 1.04, 95 % CI 0.71, 1.52 p > 0.05), hypertensive BP (OR = 1.72, 95 % CI 0.71, 3.89 p > 0.05), nor secondary cardiometabolic outcomes. No statistically significant associations were found between DMFT score and primary outcomes of elevated BP (OR = 0.01, 95 % CI 0.34, 1.07 p > 0.05), hypertensive BP (OR = 0.91, 95 % CI 0.81, 1.08 p > 0.05), or secondary cardiometabolic outcomes., Conclusion: Although studies in other countries and in adults show associations between caries and cardiometabolic outcomes, this study did not find an association between caries and cardiometabolic markers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest C.Sethna was on an advisory board for Travere Therapeutics., (Copyright © 2024 The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim was to compare cardiometabolic health between Asian American children and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) children as well as to compare cardiometabolic health among Asian American children by birthplace., Methods: Children aged 6-17 years enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2018 who self-identified as non-Hispanic Asian and NHW were included. Among Asian Americans, place of birth was defined as foreign born vs United States (US) born. Regression models were adjusted for age, sex, household income, food insecurity, passive smoke exposure, and body mass index (BMI) z-score., Results: Among 3369 children, 8.4% identified as Asian American (age 11.7 years) and 91.6% identified as NHW (age 11.7 years). Compared to NHW children, Asian American children had significantly lower BMI z-scores and odds of obesity. Asian American children had higher HOMA-IR, and greater odds of dyslipidemia and microalbuminuria compared to NHW children. Among Asian Americans, 30.5% were foreign born. Compared to foreign-born Asian American children, US-born Asian American children had significantly higher non-HDL, triglycerides, and uric acid, lower HDL, and lower odds of hyperfiltration. There were no differences in blood pressure by racial group or place of birth., Conclusions: Although Asian American children have lower odds of obesity, they have significantly worse glucose intolerance, more dyslipidemia, and more microalbuminuria compared to NHW children. US-born Asian American children have worse cardiometabolic health profiles compared to foreign-born Asian Americans., (© 2023. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.)