Association between untreated carious lesions and asthma in adults at Rabat University Hospital, Morocco: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Depending on risk factors, cumulative risk of developing more dental caries by age has been reported. However, the association between dental caries and asthma is less studied among adults. The aims of this study were to evaluate the severity of untreated carious lesions in a population of asthmatic adults and to evaluate the mediation of socio-economic and oral health behaviour variables. METHODS: The study involved participants with diagnosed asthma (N = 100) and control (N = 100) subjects attending a tertiary hospital. Groups were matched by age and gender. Asthma was the exposure of interest. The outcome measure was the rate of carious lesions. Recorded variables included demographics, socio-economic status, tooth brushing habits and oral health status using WHO criteria. Poisson regression analysis examined the association between asthma and untreated dental caries. RESULTS: The adjusted model, after the inclusion of individuals' behaviours regarding oral health, social determinants and asthma, revealed a significant association between the number of untreated carious lesions and asthma (PR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.23-1.58; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with asthma showed a greater number of untreated carious lesions. Looking forward, better understanding of the association between asthma and oral health may require exploiting the interactions of behavioural, social determinant and biological factors.