Nutritional status and prevalence of dental caries among 12-year-old children at public schools: a case-control study.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility that malnutrition and overweight/obesity might act as factors associated with dental caries among 12-year-old children.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that was carried out on 689 12-year-olds at public schools in the municipality of Caruaru, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, to determine the prevalence of dental caries and malnutrition. A case-control study nested within the cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the association between malnutrition and dental caries.

[Does birth weight affect nutritional status at the end of first year of life?].

Objective: To evaluate the association between low birth weight and nutritional status at the end of the first year of life.

Methods: This was a nested case-control study within a cohort. The study was carried out at maternity hospitals in four cities in the Zona da Mata Meridional in Pernambuco state, Brazil.