Pathways in the association between added sugar consumption, obesity in mother‐child dyads, and chronic oral disease burden in early childhood

• Published in: European journal of oral sciences 2022-04, Vol.130 (2), p.e12847-n/a
• Main Authors: Araújo, Sângela Maria Pereira, da Silva, Gisele Quariguasi Tobias Lima, Costa, Elizabeth Lima, Nunes, Ana Margarida Melo, Ribeiro, Cecilia Claudia Costa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child, Preschool; Childhood; Children; Cost of Illness; Day care centers; Daycare; Dental caries; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Dental Caries - etiology; dietary sugars; Dietary Sugars - adverse effects; Female; Gingivitis; Humans; Mother-Child Relations; Mouth Diseases; Multivariate statistical analysis; Obesity; Obesity - chemically induced; Obesity - epidemiology; Offspring; Oral diseases; Plaque index; Population studies; Pregnancy; Regression coefficients; Risk analysis; Risk factors; socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Sugar; Sugars
• ISSN: 0909-8836; 1600-0722
• DOI: 10.1111/eos.12847

In this study, we modeled the pathways in the association of socioeconomic status, frequency of added sugar consumption, and obesity in mother‐child dyads with chronic oral disease burden in early childhood using structural equation modeling. A population‐based study was conducted on preschoolers from public daycare centers in São Luís, Brazil (n = 674) and their mothers. Chronic oral disease burden in early childhood was a latent variable, representing the shared variance of the following indicators: visible plaque index, gingivitis, and dental caries. A higher consumption frequency of added sugars by children [standardized regression coefficient (SC) = 0.219] explained the chronic oral disease burden. A higher consumption frequency of added sugars by mothers was associated with greater consumption of sugar by children (SC = 0.236), and indirectly with a greater chronic oral disease burden (SC = 0.052). Maternal obesity was associated with obesity in the offspring (SC = 0.130). The chronic oral disease burden is already present in early childhood and can be explained by the higher consumption of added sugars by the mother‐child dyad. Approaches to preventing chronic oral diseases should focus on common risk factors, start early in life, and promote family involvement in this process.