Neighborhood social capital and dental injuries in Brazilian adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
Evidence suggests that communities with higher levels of social capital have better health, but this association has not been explored specifically in relation to dental injury. We investigated the association between social capital and dental injury.


METHODS
We conducted a multilevel study assessed individual and neighborhood effects on dental injury of 1302 14- to 15-year-old adolescents in 39 schools of Distrito Federal, Brazil. Children underwent a dental examination and, with their parents, answered a questionnaire about their local environments. Our data analysis used logistic multilevel modeling of students and neighborhood (the latter defined by catchment areas of schools).


RESULTS
The prevalence of dental injury was significantly lower in neighborhoods with higher levels of social capital, especially among boys. After control for individual and neighborhood variables, the adjusted odds ratio for a 1-unit increase in the standardized social capital index was 0.55 (95% confidence interval=0.37, 0.81; P=.002) among boys.


CONCLUSIONS
Social capital may explain inequalities in rates of dental injury, especially among boys.
Pattussi
Marcos Pascoal
MP
Postgraduate Program on Collective Health of the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, Brazil. mppattussi@unisinos.br
Hardy
Rebecca
R
Sheiham
Aubrey
A
D000293:Adolescent; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000293:injuries; D015995:Prevalence; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000145:classification*; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data