The Effects of Obesity and Mothers’ Education Levels on the Periodontal Health Status of Iraqi School-Aged Children

Background: It is evident from the literature that an increased body mass index (BMI) and low socioeconomicstatus are potential risk factors for periodontal diseases. Most related studies are international and haveinvestigated such associations in adults, and there have been few Iraqi studies targeting school-aged children.Objective: To investigate the impact of paediatric obesity and mothers’ educational levels on the periodontalhealth status of children.Method: The study sample was composed of 300 children (152 males, 148 females) aged 6-12 years. Thesubjects’ weight and height were measured, and the body mass index was calculated for each child to obtain apercentile ranking; the percentiles were used to allocate the total sample population into four subgroups(underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese). The children’s periodontal health was assessed using thePlaque Index (PLI) and Gingival Index (GI), and the mothers’ educational level was assessed by direct parentalinterview.Results: Compared with the other categories of children, obese male (84.35) and overweight female (82.92)children had greater values for the PLI, while overweight children of both sexes (89.47 male, 92.11 female) hadgreater values of the GI. Male and female children with mothers who had the lowest level of education werefound to have the highest values of PLI & GI. Non-significant differences were recorded between the male –female matched study groups with regard to the body mass index and mothers’ educational levels.Conclusions: Childhood obesity and socioeconomic disadvantages have negative impacts on children’s gingivalhealth in this representative sample.Keywords: Obesity, Mothers’ Education, Plaque Index, Gingival Index, Body Mass Index, Iraq