Análise do hemograma e dos marcadores inflamatórios séricos na cárie da primeira infância

Abstract

Objective: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) has been associated with systemic conditions such as obesity and other nutritional deficiencies. These associations have not been adequately studied yet. The present study aimed at evaluating systemic conditions that may be underlying the severity of caries in early childhood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of interleukin- 1β (IL-1β), interleukin (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and lipocalin associated with human neutrophil gelatinase (NGAL) associated with higher caries severity in early childhood (number of cavities), in a theoretical model adjusted for social variables, BMI Z score and consumption of beverages with added sugar; and Chapter II aimed at comparing the mean hemoglobin, neutrophils and eosinophils in children with Severe Early Childhood Cavities (S-ECC) and carie-free children and also to analyze the association between these components of the hemogram with the presence of S-ECC, in models adjusted for socioeconomic variables and for the consumption of sugar rich beverages. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil, from June 2015 to September 2016. The sample was obtained from the randomization of the original sample from a historical cohort; with 152 children aged between 4 and 5 years old, 72 cases (children with ECC) and 80 controls (caries free). The data were obtained through a structured and validated questionnaire containing socioeconomic, demographic and maternal schooling questions applied to mothers or caregivers; a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and anthropometric examination, to evaluate the nutritional status; oral clinical examination of children for assessment of decayed teeth (ceo-d index); blood tests and reading of serum inflammatory markers and blood count. For Article 1, a Poisson regression model was suggested to evaluate the association between social factors, the BMI Z score (Body Mass Index), sugar consumption and severity of ECC; and for the analysis of the association between serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and NGAL and severity of ECC with adjusted model for social variables, BMI Z score and consumption of added sugar beverages. The average ratio (AR) and the respective confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated at a significance level of 5%. For Article 2, a comparison test of the hemogram (hemoglobin, neutrophils and eosinophils) of children with and without S-ECC was performed, and Logistic Regression models were applied to test the association between Levels of hemoglobin, neutrophils, and eosinophils and presence of S-ECC and adjusted for family income, mother's schooling, sex and consumption of sugar-rich beverages, with estimated coefficients in OR, 95% confidence intervals, Significance level of 5%. Results: In chapter 1, the highest tertiles of the serum levels of IL-6 (2nd tercil- AR = 1,55, CI = 1,14-2,10, p = 0.005, 3rd tercil- AR = 1,54, CI = 13-2.09, p = 0.006), TNF-α (3rd tercil- RM = 1.33, CI = 1.00-1.78, p = 0.040) and NGAL (2nd tercil- AR = 1.79, CI = 1.10-2.90, p ≤ 0.001, 3rd tercil- AR = 2.04, CI = 1.26- 3.30, p = 0.003) were associated with the highest severity of caries in early infancy, even after adjusting for BMI, however after adjusting the model for the consumption of beverages with added sugar, the associations were maintained for IL-6 the strength of association of NGAL was reduced, and for TNF-α there was no association. In Chapter 2, lower mean hemoglobin levels (p = 0.036), higher mean neutrophils (p = 0.040) and eosinophils (p = 0.034) were found in children with S-ECC compared to caries-free ; in the regression models adjusted for economic and socioeconomic variables, higher levels of hemoglobin were protective for SECC (OR 0.64; IC=0,41-0,97; p=0,040) while higher levels of neutrophils were indicators of risk of S-ECC (OR 1.03; IC=1,02-1,06; p=0,040), and after adjustment for frequency of consumption of sugar-rich beverages, the strength of association of these components with the S-ECC was reduced, suggesting that the higher frequency of consumption of these sugars are a common factor that bind blood-to-blood changes to S-ECC. Conclusion: Higher serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and NGAL are associated with higher caries severity in children, suggesting the presence of underlying systemic inflammation and excessive consumption of added sugars seem to be implicated in the relationship between higher serum levels of TNF-α and NGAL with Severity of caries in children. Higher levels of neutrophils and eosinophils and lower levels of hemoglobin have been shown in children with S-ECC suggesting that systemic alterations such as iron deficiency and inflammation should be investigated in the presence of S-ECC by multidisciplinary health teams.