Association of Dental Caries, Periodontal, and Nutritional Status with Body Mass Index among Incarcerated Women in Central Jail, Karachi, Pakistan.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association body mass index and the status of dental decay and gum health in women serving prison sentences.

Methods: A cross-sectional investigation took place at the Central Jail for Women, Pakistan, spanning from January 2021 to February 2022. The study included all incarcerated women and those awaiting trial aged between 18 and 65 years, while individuals who declined participation were excluded. Con- venience sampling was employed, and each participant underwent examinations for dental caries and periodontal status. Sample size was calculated by considering the total number of women in prison to be 205, keeping the margin of error as 5%, and a confidence level of 95%, a sample size of 134 was calculated. Oral health was measured through DMFT index. Body mass indexes were re- corded by measuring the height and weight of the participants. Furthermore, nutritional habits includ- ing height, weight, source of food and frequency of food were also documented. Oral health conditions were evaluated in 131 women currently serving prison sentences.

Results: About 23.7 % (n=31) were overweight and 6.1% were obese. Total 71.7% (n=94) of women had at least one decayed tooth, 63 (48.1%) had at least one missing tooth, and 7 (5.3%) had at least one filled tooth. The logistic regression analysis indicated a significant association between being overweight and the DMFT score, with an Exponentiation of B of 1.19 and a 95% confidence interval ranging from 1.03 to 1.38. The associated p-value was 0.021.

Conclusion: It was found that high BMI was significantly associated with higher DMFT score. The re- sults of this study drives the attention of clinicians and researchers towards the unidentified health needs of incarcerated women. Among other medical conditions, sensitization to oral hygiene and oral health must also be prioritized. Further efforts should be directed towards making oral health acces- sible to the incarcerated population.