Low birth weight and hypertension during pregnancy are risk factors for severity of DDE

Today at the 93rd General Session and Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research, researcher Bertha A. Chavez Gonzalez, Universidade de Minas Gerias, Lima, San Borja, Peru, will present a study titled "Birth Weight and Pregnancy Complications Associated With the Enamel Defects." The IADR General Session is being held in conjunction with the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research and the 39th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.

This cross-sectional representative study aimed to assess the association between birth weight and severity of defects development of enamel (DDE) in the primary dentition. The sample was comprised 1,309 children five years of age, enrolled in kindergarten in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. The children were examined at school for the diagnosis of DDE. The mothers answered a questionnaire containing information of complications during pregnancy. The response variable was dichotomized in greater and lesser gravity of developmental defects of enamel, depending on the location of the DDE, when in the previous sector was considered minor and when he was in the posterior region or both, greater severity. The covariates were child gender, birth weight, prematurity, age of the mother during pregnancy and complications during pregnancy.

The prevalence of DDE with greater and minor severity was 22.7% and 77.3% respectively. The Poisson regression analysis of the adjusted model showed a greater prevalence of DDE among children with low birth weight. The researchers conclude that low birth weight and hypertension during pregnancy can be considered risk factors for the severity of DDE.