THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HYGIENE INDEX AND INDICATORS OF THE IMMUNOLOGICAL STATUS OF THE ORAL FLUID IN CHILDREN WHO LIVE IN CONDITIONS OF THE COMPLEX INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

Abstract

The purpose of the study. Determination of immunological indicators of oral fluid in children with chronic catarrhal gingivitis, who live under conditions of complex environmental pollution.  Research materials and methods. In order to solve the set goals and objectives, a dental examination was carried out in 120 schoolchildren (the main group) from the cities of Yavoriv and Zhydachiv, Lviv region, which belong to the ecologically polluted region (EZR). The comparison group consisted of 80 children from the city of Lviv, whose ecological condition was characterized as a «conditionally clean» region (HCR). The examination was conducted in the key age groups of 7, 12, and 15 years of age in accordance with WHO recommendations. The Fedorov- Volodkina (GI) index was used to study oral hygiene. In order to assess the adaptive capabilities of the body and determine risk factors for the occurrence of periodontal tissue damage, we investigated the cytokine content in the oral fluid of the examined children.  Statistical data processing was carried out by the method of variational statistics, taking into account the Student’s criterion and using Statistica 7.0 software (StatSoft, Inc). Measurement of the correlation relationship between indicators of the immunological status of oral fluid in children with chronic catarrhal gingivitis of the main group was carried out using the non-parametric Kendall- Tau correlation coefficient (τ=). Conclusions. The evaluation of the condition of the oral cavity according to the Fedorov-Volodkina index showed that in children with chronic catarrhal gingivitis, who live in conditions of complex environmental pollution, the hygienic index was 1.73±0.07 points and was characterized as satisfactory, while in the examined children of the comparison group the data of the hygiene index were evaluated as a good hygienic state of the oral cavity with a value of 1.22±0.05 points (р<0.01). In order to study and analyze the relationship between indicators of the immunological status of children’s oral fluid, their age and place of residence, we conducted a correlation analysis of these parameters. It was found that as the age of the examined children increases, the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the oral fluid increases in both comparison groups, but this trend is more pronounced in children from an ecologically polluted region.  At the same time, the concentration of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, TGF-β1) in the oral fluid of children of the main group was reduced, compared to the data of children living in conditionally “clean” areas.