OBJECTIVES: to investigate the association between socioeconomic position and the presence of nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P). METHODS: a case-control study with 110 cases with CL/P matched by age and gender with 220 controls was carried out, the cases were selected from the "Hospital Niño DIF Hidalgo" of Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. A structured questionnaire which contained socioeconomic variables was used to recollect data. Applying the principal component analysis (polycoric correlation) the socioeconomic variables were combined and were builded several socioeconomic position indicators as: socioeconomic level (house characteristics), living comfort level (house supplies), parents education (school years), social security, indigenism (native language spoken by either parent). A bivariate analysis was realized using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: the highest frecuency found was the cleft lip and palate at the same time (90.9%) either uni or bilateral. The most common defect was left cleft lip and palate (33.6%). Cleft lip and/ or palate was associated with the living comfort level (compared with the worst quintil: 2nd OR= 0.46; p=0.030, 3rd OR=0.39; p=0.015, 4th OR= 0.30; p=0.002, 5th OR=0.27; p=0.001), socioeconomic level (compared with the worst tercil: 2nd OR=0.46; p=0.004), 3rd OR=0.18; p<0.001, father's schooling (OR=0.86; p<0.001), and mother's schooling (OR=0.84; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: the study demonstrates the socioeconomic inequality in oral health, observing risk for CL/P according to socioeconomic position.
Cleft lip; Cleft palate; Case-control study; Mexico
