Table 2.
Descriptive statistics for socioeconomic background and bivariate associations with ECC
| Socioeconomic background | % (N) | % of ECC1 | PR of ECC2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parents’ level of education | ||||
| Incomplete compulsory education | 14.6 (14) | 64.3a | Reference category | |
| Compulsory education | 15.4 (132) | 31.1b | 0.48 [0.30-0.77]** | |
| Apprenticeship (vocational school) | 22.4 (192) | 28.1b | 0.44 [0.28-0.69]*** | |
| Secondary education (high-school diploma) | 18.2 (156) | 31.4b | 0.49 [0.31-0.77]** | |
| Tertiary education (university) | 42.1 (360) | 15.8c | 0.25 [0.16-0.39]*** | |
| Missing | 0.2 (2) | - | - | |
| Parents’ professional level | ||||
| Unemployed | 6.8 (58) | 48.3a | Reference category | |
| Lower occupations | 55.3 (473) | 27.9b | 0.48 [0.25-0.90]* | |
| Intermediate occupations | 16.8 (144) | 17.4c | 0.58 [0.43-0.78]*** | |
| Higher occupations | 16.5 (141) | 12.8c | 0.36 [0.23-0.56]*** | |
| Self-employed | 4.6 (39) | 23.1b,c | 0.26 [0.16-0.44]*** | |
| Missing | 0.1 (1) | - | ||
| Family income | ||||
| Low (< CHF 4,000) | 18.1 (155) | 42.6a | Reference category | |
| Medium (CHF 4,000 to CHF 6,000) | 25.1 (214) | 20.1b | 0.52 [0.38-0.71]*** | |
| High (> CHF 6,000) | 7.6 (65) | 13.8b | 0.33 [0.17-0.61]*** | |
| Other | 15.5 (133) | 18.8b | 0.44 [0.30-0.66]*** | |
| Did not want to answer | 33.4 (286) | 22.7b | 0.53 [0.40-0.71]*** | |
| Missing | 0.4 (3) | - | ||
| Parents’ literacy | ||||
| Problems | 20.4 (175) | 41.7a | Reference category | |
| No problems | 79.6 (681) | 20.4b | 0.49 [0.39-0.62]*** | |
| Parents’ immigration status | ||||
| Developing countries (HDI < 0.8) | 29.7 (254) | 42.5a | Reference category | |
| Developed countries (HDI > 0.8)/Swiss citizens | 70.2 (601) | 17.1b | 0.40 [0.32-0.51]*** | |
| Missing | 0.1 (1) | - | - | |
ECC: Early Childhood Caries; PR: Prevalence Ratio
1Row percentages. For example: A total of 14.6 % of the children whose parents had an incomplete compulsory education had ECC
2PR were computed using log-binomial models
a, b, cFor significant Fischer’s exact test, a same subscript letter within a column denotes that proportions did not differ; two different subscript letters denote that proportions differed at the 0.05 level
* p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001