History of dental caries in Inuit populations: genetic implications and ‘distance effect’

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Kabous, Julie, Esclassan, Rémi, Krishna Murti, Pawan, Alva, Omar, Paquet, Liliane, Grondin, Julie, Letellier, Thierry, Noirrit-Esclassan, Emmanuelle, Pierron, Denis
• Other Authors: Évolution et Santé Orale (EVOLSAN), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT), Centre d'anthropologie et de génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Anthropologie bio-culturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé (ADES), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-EFS ALPES MEDITERRANEE-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: Caries prevalence; Inuit; distance; indigenous populations; risks factors; [SDV.SPEE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Santé publique et épidémiologie; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; inuit
• Online Access: https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04312299; https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04312299/document; https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04312299/file/MANUSCRIPT%20WITH%20AUTHORS%20DETAILS%2017022023.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2252568

International audience Dental caries is considered the third most important scourge in the world. In North America, Inuit populations are the population the most severely affected by dental caries. It is often assumed that this situation can be explained by a combination of factors classical for Indigenous populations: remoteness (geographical distance), low economic status and low health literacy (cultural distance). Using a bibliographic approach, we tested this hypothesis of the "distance effect" by exploring the caries prevalence in other Indigenous populations living in high-income countries. Next, we tested whether the high prevalence of caries is due to population-specific characteristics by tracking caries prevalence over the past few centuries. In result, we showed that while other Indigenous populations are more impacted by caries than the general populations, the Inuit populations present the highest prevalence. Paradoxically, we showed also that past Inuit populations were almost immune to caries before 1950. These two elements suggest that the prevalence of caries observed presently is a recent maladaptation and that beyond the effect of cultural and geographical distance, specific biocultural factors have to be investigated.