According to a new study, minority children in the U.S. are more likely to have worse oral health compared with white children. (Photo: Zurijeta/Shutterstock)

2013-1-28 | News Americas

DALLAS, Texas, USA: Despite an increase in the number of minority children in the recent years, this population has been poorly studied with regard to access to health care to date. However, a new study has found that these children experience many disparities in medical and oral health care, which persist over time.

Data for the study was obtained from the 2003 and 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, which includes nationwide telephone interviews of the parents of 193,995 children (0 to 17 years old) about children's physical, emotional, and behavioral health. An analysis of the data revealed that minority children continue to experience multiple disparities in medical and oral health care, access to care and use of services compared with white children.

Among others, the researchers found that all minority groups were significantly more likely to have worse oral health status than white children were. Suboptimal dental conditions were observed in over half of Latinos (51 percent), compared with only 20 percent of whites.

The study revealed that Latino, Asian-Pacific American, and American Indian and Alaska Native children were significantly more likely to reside in households in which English was not the primary home language. All children in minority households were more likely to have parents with low income or unemployed parents. Moreover, only 6 percent of white children were uninsured, compared with 19 percent of Latino, 13 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives, and 9 percent of African-American children.

The trends in disparities did not change significantly between 2003 and 2007, which indicates that certain disparities persisted over time despite an increase in the number of pediatricians and advances in medical care and the detection of pediatric diseases in the U.S. during the past decade, the researchers said. They added that urgent community-based interventions are required to eliminate such disparities through education and social support.

According to the 2010 U.S. census, the population of white children in America declined by 4.3 million from 2000 to 2010, while the number of Latino and Asian-Pacific American children increased by 5.5 million. The researchers suggested that it is likely that minority children will outnumber white children by 2020.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It was published online on Jan. 22 in the International Journal for Equity in Health ahead of print.