Dental caries, frequency of refined sugar consumption and body mass index among freshmen undergraduate students in Nigeria

Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine association between dental caries and body mass index (BMI), and dental caries and frequency of sugar consumption freshmen undergraduate student in Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 1,164 students between 15 to 23 years of age. The independent variables for this study included age, sex, socioeconomic status, BMI, frequency of consuming refined sugars between meals and action taken after consumption of refined sugars. Descriptive analysis was used for all the quantitative variables while inferential analysis using logistic regression was used to determine predictors of dental caries. Results: A total of 1,164 students participated in the study, comprising 61.9% females and 38.1% males. The mean age of the participants was 18.13 (±4.99) and mean BMI was 21.68 (±7.93). The prevalence of dental caries was 10.6% and the mean Decay Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) was 0.32 (±1.05). Age and socioeconomic status were the significant predictors of dental caries (p=0.02; p=0.04 respectively). However, there was increase odds of having dental caries in students with normal BMI ((AOR: 1.19; P=0.62), students that consumed refined sugar 3-4 between meals (AOR: 1.27; P=0.28) and students that did nothing after consumption of refined sugar (AOR: 1.43; P=0.51). Conclusion: The prevalence of dental caries in this study population was low, older students from middle socioeconomic status had significant caries prevalence and there were increase odds of dental caries in students with normal BMI, and in those that consumed refined sugars 3-4 times between meals