Racial/ethnic variations in associations between socioeconomic factors and tooth loss.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the associations between socioeconomic factors and tooth loss among White, Black, and Mexican-American people.


METHODS
Analyses were conducted on 16,821 adults, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-III. Age- and multivariate-adjusted negative binomial regressions were used to explore the relation of socioeconomic factors, region of residence, gender, and foreign birth with the number of missing teeth. Effect modification by race/ethnicity was assessed by the inclusion of interaction terms.


RESULTS
In multivariate-adjusted analyses, non-Hispanic White people with 9-12 years of education exhibited 71% higher mean number of missing teeth than those with >12 years of education [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.71, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.52-1.92]. Education was unrelated to the number of teeth among non-Hispanic Black people (IRR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.00-1.35) or Mexican-Americans (IRR = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.93-1.31). The poorest White people exhibited 39% more missing teeth, on average, than the most affluent White people, but no association between poverty and number of teeth was observed among Black or Mexican-American people.


CONCLUSIONS
The associations between socioeconomic factors and tooth loss vary across race/ethnicity. This suggests that the health benefits associated with high socioeconomic status are not equally shared across racial/ethnic groups.
Jimenez
Monik
M
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. monik_jimenez@hsdm.harvard.edu
Dietrich
Thomas
T
Shih
Mei-Chiung
MC
Li
Yi
Y
Joshipura
Kaumudi J
KJ
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005191:Family Characteristics / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*