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© 2023 Hallon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Child labor has significant physical, psychological, and social consequences, which can persist into adulthood. This study investigates the association between the age at which an individual begins working and tooth loss in older adults in Ecuador. We analyzed data from the SABE 2009 survey (Survey of Health, Well-being, and Aging), using binary logistic regression to examine potential relationships. Our analytical sample comprised of 3,899 older adults from mainland Ecuador, with 42.50% having started working between the ages of 5 and 12. Unadjusted logistic regression results indicated that older adults who began working at ages 5–12 had a 42% higher risk of missing more than 4 teeth compared to those who started working at ages 18–25. After adjusting for potential confounders, the resulting risk was 28% higher than for the reference group [OR 1.28 95% CI 1.25–1.30]. Our findings demonstrate that early engagement in labor is a risk factor for tooth loss among older adults, displaying the long-term impacts of child labor on oral health. Health education and benefits should be provided to this vulnerable population for tooth loss prevention.

Details

Title
Association between age people started working and missing teeth in an elderly population in Ecuador: Evidence from a cross-sectional study
Author
Hallon, Camila; Barrionuevo-León, Camilo; Gallardo-Bastidas, Juan Carlos; Robles-Velasco, Karla  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cherrez-Ojeda, Iván  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Faytong-Haro, Marco
First page
e0293635
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2023
Publication date
Nov 2023
Publisher
Public Library of Science
e-ISSN
19326203
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3069278981
Copyright
© 2023 Hallon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.