Social capital and oral health in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Jessica K. Knorst, Fernanda Tomazoni, Camila S. Sfreddo, Mario V Vettore, Daniela Hesse, Thiago M. Ardenghi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Objectives: To systematically evaluate the association of individual and contextual social capital with oral health outcomes in children and adolescents. Methods: Electronic searches were performed in PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus databases for articles published from 1966 up to June 2021. Two calibrated reviewers screened and critically appraised the identified papers. Observational studies that evaluated the relationship of individual or/and contextual social capital or their proxies with oral health outcomes in children and adolescents using validated methods were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data were extracted for narrative synthesis and meta-analysis followed by a meta-regression model. Meta-analysis using random effects method was used to estimate pooled prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Of the 3060 studies initially retrieved, 31 were included in the systematic review and 21 in the meta-analysis, totalling 81 241 individuals. The clinical outcomes included dental caries and gingival bleeding and subjective outcomes were oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and self-rated oral health (SROH). Individuals with lower levels of individual social capital had a higher prevalence of poor clinical (PR 1.11; 95%CI 1.02–1.22) and subjective (PR 1.25; 95%CI 1.09–1.45) oral health conditions. The prevalence of worse clinical (PR 1.34; 95%CI 1.11–1.61) and subjective (PR 1.56; 95%CI 1.13–2.16) oral health outcomes were also associated with lower levels of contextual social capital. In general, the contextual level of social capital exerted more impact, and the subjective oral health outcomes were the more affected. Conclusions: Contextual and individual social capital were positively related to oral health outcomes, such as dental caries, gingival bleeding, SROH and OHRQoL in children and adolescents.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)461-468
Number of pages8
JournalCommunity Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology
Volume50
Issue number6
Early online date24 Dec 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq—process 160258/2020‐0) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERPGS—process 17/2551‐0001083‐3) supported this study. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Keywords

  • children
  • oral health
  • social network
  • social support
  • systematic review

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