부산대학교 도서관

OBJECTIVES:: This study was conducted to investigate the association between prolonged breastfeeding and early childhood caries(ECC) with adjustment for important confounders, using hieraschical approach. METHODS:: This retrospective cohort study involved 260 low-income children (18–42 months). The number of decayed teeth was used as a measure of caries. Following a theoretical framework, the hierarchical model was built in a forward fashion, by adding the following levels in succession: level 1: age; level 2: social variables; level 3: health variables; level 4: behavioral variables; level 5: oral hygiene–related variables; level 6: oral hygiene quality measured by visible plaque; and level 7: contamination by mutans streptococci. Sequential forward multiple Poisson regression analysis was employed. RESULTS:: Breast-feeding was not a risk factor for ECC after adjustment for some confounders (incidence density ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 0.84–1.59, P = 0.363). CONCLUSION:: Prolonged breast-feeding was not a risk factor for ECC while age, high sucrose comption between main meals and the quality of oral higiene were associated with disease in children.