Oral Health Status of Chinese Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology Patients with Chemotherapy in Hong Kong: a Pilot Study

Aim: To study the oral health status of Chinese children and adolescents undergoing chemotherapy in Hong Kong. Method: All Chinese children and adolescent oncology patients aged 18 or below attending the Children's Centre for Cancer and Blood Disease at a hospital for chemotherapy were invited and parental consent was sought before they were accepted into the study. The study comprised of 1) a parental questionnaire, 2) the collection of medical history and 3) a clinical examination for tooth decay (caries) and mucosal status. Results: A total of 69 patients were invited, and they all participated in this study. Their mean age was 9.2±5.0 and 44 (64%) were males. Twenty-six patients (38%) had no caries experience (DMFT and/or dmft = 0). Higher caries experience was detected in participants that were not born in Hong Kong, had completed active chemotherapy, participated in school dental care service and whose parents had low educational levels. There were 41 patients with active chemotherapy, 24 of whom were diagnosed with acute leukaemia, 5 with haematological malignancies other than leukaemia and 11 with solid tumours. Antimetabolites, cytotoxic antibiotics, alkylating agents and plant alkaloids were administered in 49%, 32%, 24% and 22% of them, respectively. Twenty-six (63%) patients showed no mucosal complications. The most common oral complication was oral mucositis (24%) followed by petechiae (10%). Conclusion: About two-thirds of paediatric and adolescent cancer patients had caries experience, which was more common among those who had completed chemotherapy. Oral mucositis followed by petechiae were the two most common complications of receiving chemotherapy.published_or_final_versio

Caries experience of Hong Kong primary schoolchildren: a pilot survery

Poster Session: 1. Behavioral, Epidemiologic and Health Services Research: no. 4OBJECTIVES: This pilot survey aim to assess the caries status of Hong Kong aged 11- to 12-year-old children, their oral health related habits and socio-demographic factors. METHODS: This survey was conducted in May 2011. Ethics approval was sought from the Institutional Review Board (UW 11-169). Cluster sampling was adopted, selecting children aged 11 to 12 years in primary schools in the 3 main districts of Hong Kong. Written parental consent was sought and the parents were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Their children were examined by 3 calibrated examiners for caries status with WHO criteria. RESULTS: A total of 253 children participated in the survey and 134 (53%) were boys. The prevalence of caries experience (DMFT>0) was 21% (n=54). The mean DT, MT, FT and DMFT scores were 0.06±0.27, 0, 0.25±0.60 and 0.32±0.70, respectively. Girls had more untreated decay teeth than boys (p=0.046). All children brushed their teeth daily. Consumption of vitamin C supplement beverage was positively related to caries experience (B=0.26, p=0.024). Parental misconception that dental decay being caused by “tooth worms” was also positively related with caries experience of the children (B=0.22, p=0.041). CONCLUSION: According to this pilot survey, the 11- to 12-year-old children in Hong Kong had low caries experience. All children had daily tooth-brushing and about 80% of them had no caries experience. Higher caries experience was related to consumption of vitamin C supplement beverage and parental misconception on oral health. This study was supported by the EXTRA Teeth Loving Day Action Grantlink_to_OA_fulltextThe 25th Annual Scientific Meeting of the IADR-SEA Division and the 22nd Annual Meeting of SEAADE, Singapore, 28-30 October 2011

Post-genome wide association studies and functional analyses identify association of MPP7 gene variants with site-specific bone mineral density

Our previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a Hong Kong Southern Chinese population with extreme bone mineral density (BMD) scores revealed suggestive association with MPP7, which ranked second after JAG1 as a candidate gene for BMD. To follow-up this suggestive signal, we replicated the top single-nucleotide polymorphism rs4317882 of MPP7 in three additional independent Asian-descent samples (n = 2684). The association of rs4317882 reached the genome-wide significance in the meta-analysis of all available subjects (Pmeta = 4.58 × 10-8, n = 4204). Site heterogeneity was observed, with a larger effect on spine than hip BMD. Further functional studies in a zebrafish model revealed that vertebral bone mass was lower in an mpp7 knock-down model compared with the wide-type (P = 9.64 × 10-4, n = 21). In addition, MPP7 was found to have constitutive expression in human bone-derived cells during osteogenesis. Immunostaining of murine MC3T3-E1 cells revealed that the Mpp7 protein is localized in the plasma membrane and intracytoplasmic compartment of osteoblasts. In an assessment of the function of identified variants, an electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated the binding of transcriptional factor GATA2 to the risk allele 'A' but not the 'G' allele of rs4317882. An mRNA expression study in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells confirmed that the low BMD-related allele 'A' of rs4317882 was associated with lower MPP7 expression (P = 9.07 × 10-3, n = 135). Our data suggest a genetic and functional association of MPP7 with BMD variation. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex