Analysis of Risk Factors in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Ukraine Associated with Early Childhood Caries

Abstract

The number of children with ASD is growing in Ukraine. At the same time, the prevalence of caries in children under 6 years of age is increasing every year. There is no consensus in the scientific literature on the potential relationship between ASD, ECC in children and related factors. The main purpose is to study and evaluate the risk factors for ECC in children with ASD. 92 children aged 5 to 6 years were under observation. The main group included 69 children with ASD, and the control group included 23 healthy children without ASD. The study was conducted by using a questionnaire of parents' sanitary and hygienic knowledge and assessing children's manual skills. The hygiene index of Yu. A. Fedorov and V.V. Volodkina was used to assess the quality of oral hygiene in children aged 5-6 years. The state of the acid-base balance of mixed saliva was assessed using the pH index and for this purpose, test strips with a graduated scale of 5.2 - 7.4 (ISO 13485) were used. We found that the oral hygiene was maintained twice a day only in 33.33% of children in the main group with ASD. The average value of the hygiene index in children of the main group with ASD is 2.70±0.13 points, which indicates poor hygiene. In children with ASD pH of the oral fluid averaged 5.96±0.07 and it was interpreted as slightly acidic. Based on the on the results above, the sanitary and hygienic behavior, the nature of nutrition, food preferences, and the quality of hygienic care analyzed in this study are directly related to the development of ECC in children 5-6 years old with ASD and are the important risk factors. In addition, risk factors in children with and without ASD differ and are elevated in children with the autistic spectrum. Thus, nutrition correction and the development of preventive oral hygiene programs are considered especially important for children with ASD.