Socio-economic and ethnic influences on infant feeding practices related to oral health.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the role of socio-economic factors in explaining ethnic differences in two infant feeding practices contra-indicated for dental health: adding sugary foods to a feeding bottle and bottle usage for any type of drink after one year.


METHODS
Secondary analysis of dietary and socio-demographic data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) survey of infant feeding in Asian families. Regression models examining the impact of ethnicity on the two feeding practices were compared with models which also included eight socio-economic variables.


METHODS
The ONS survey collected data from a representative sample of minority ethnic groups living in the UK. The sample consisted of 764 Indian, 593 Pakistani, and 477 Bangladeshi families and 548 White families by the final stage of the study.


RESULTS
Significant socio-economic differences were identified between the different ethnic groups in the sample. The Bangladeshi group were the most disadvantaged and deprived group. Regression analyses showed that inclusion of socio-economic variables added significantly to models based solely on ethnicity for the two selected feeding practices. There was a considerable drop in the odds ratios for ethnicity when socioeconomic variables were included in models for adding sugary foods to the bottle. However, this effect was less evident in models predicting bottle usage at fifteen months.


CONCLUSIONS
While ethnicity may influence infant feeding practices, when socio-economic factors are considered it appears to be a less important determinant for some of these behaviours.
Dykes
J
J
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
Watt
R G
RG
Nazroo
J
J
D001459:Bangladesh / Q000208:ethnology; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010154:Pakistan / Q000208:ethnology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012067:Religion; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D044465:White People
D019422:Dietary Sucrose