Table 1.
Distribution of specific and cumulative adverse childhood experiences by dentine caries experience (DMFT), study sample n=6351
| Adverse childhood experience | N (%) | DMFT median (IQR) |
DMFT mean (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical abuse, close (beaten/injured by someone close to me) | |||
| No | 5858 (92.2) | 1 (0–4) | 2.45 (3.26) |
| Yesa | 286 (4.5) | 2 (0–5) | 3.14 (3.34) |
| Missing | 207 (3.3) | 2 (0–5) | 2.93 (3.78) |
| Physical abuse, others (beaten/injured by others) | |||
| No | 5806 (91.4) | 1 (0–4) | 2.45 (3.24) |
| Yesa | 338 (5.3) | 2 (0–5) | 3.07 (3.67) |
| Missing | 207 (3.3) | 2 (0–4) | 2.84 (3.75) |
| Witness to violence (seen others violently hurt) | |||
| No | 5252 (82.7) | 1 (0–4) | 2.41 (3.22) |
| Yesa | 884 (13.9) | 2 (0–4) | 2.91 (3.52) |
| Missing | 215 (3.4) | 2 (0–4) | 2.86 (3.74) |
| Sexual abuse, peer (been subjected to sexually uncomfortable/abusive acts by someone about your age) | |||
| No | 5747 (90.5) | 1 (0–4) | 2.46 (3.25) |
| Yesa | 385 (6.1) | 2 (0–4) | 2.86 (3.49) |
| Missing | 219 (3.5) | 1 (0–5) | 2.85 (3.77) |
| Sexual abuse, adult (been subjected to sexually uncomfortable/abusive acts by an adult) | |||
| No | 5946 (93.6) | 1 (0–4) | 2.45 (3.25) |
| Yesa | 172 (2.7) | 3 (1–5) | 3.48 (3.66) |
| Missing | 233 (3.7) | 2 (0–4) | 2.91 (3.71) |
| Parental separation/divorce | |||
| No | 4069 (64.1) | 1 (0–3) | 2.25 (3.16) |
| Yes | 2221 (35.0) | 2 (0–4) | 2.93 (3.47) |
| Missing | 61 (1.0) | 3 (1–5) | 3.31 (3.33) |
| Parental alcohol problems (ever seen either of your parents intoxicated) | |||
| No | 5982 (94.2) | 1 (0–4) | 2.44 (3.22) |
| Yesb | 248 (3.9) | 3 (1–6) | 3.83 (4.16) |
| Missing | 121 (1.9) | 1 (0–4) | 2.70 (3.68) |
| Bully victimization c | |||
| No | 5056 (79.6) | 1 (0–4) | 2.46 (3.23) |
| Yes | 1001 (15.8) | 1 (0–4) | 2.67 (3.55) |
| Missing | 294 (4.6) | 1 (0–4) | 2.58 (3.39) |
| Number of ACEs | |||
| 0 | 2691 (42.4) | 1 (0–3) | 2.13 (3.02) |
| 1 | 2014 (31.7) | 1 (0–4) | 2.58 (3.36) |
| 2 | 704 (11.1) | 2 (0–4) | 2.93 (3.45) |
| 3 | 249 (3.9) | 2 (0–5) | 2.98 (3.49) |
| ≥4 | 230 (3.6) | 2 (0–6) | 3.50 (3.90) |
| Missing information on one or more ACEs | 463 (7.3) | 2 (0–4) | 2.83 (3.47) |
N: Number of participants; DMFT: Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth; IQR: Interquartile range; SD: Standard deviation; ACE: Adverse childhood experience
aOnce/several times
bA few times a month/a few times a week
cBully victimization was assessed by four questions: “I have been made fun of, teased in a hurtful way by peers, or someone has said ugly things to me”; ”I have been bullied, hit, got my hair pulled, kicked or attacked by peers”; “I have been isolated by peers and I am not allowed to join them”; “I have received unpleasant messages or pictures on my cell phone or via internet”. The response options were identical in all four types of bully victimization (never, 1–3 times a month, once a week, 2–4 times a week). We defined experiencing one type of bullying once a week or experiencing two types of bullying 1–3 times a month as an ACE.