Overweight, Obese, Underweight, and Frequency of Sugar Consumption As Risk Indicators for Early Childhood Caries in Brazilian Preschool Children

Background: A possible association between being overweight or obese and early childhood caries (ECC) remains controversial.

Aim: To investigated this association in a developing country testing the confounding effects of socioeconomic factors and frequency of sugar consumption.

Methods: Historical cohort study, 388 children (aged 24-71 months) living in São Luís, Brazil. A theoretical model adjusted according to income, birthweight, and nutritional status at twelve months and frequency of sugar consumption was generated with directed acyclic graphs to analyze this association. Caries were considered a discrete variable in the Poisson regression models; incidence density ratios (IRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated.

Results: Being overweight or obese (IR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.03-2.22) was independently associated with ECC. Being thin or very thin (IR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.52-2.54), a high frequency of sugar consumption (IR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.42-2.38), and age (IR = 3.62; 95% CI: 2.58-5.08) were associated with ECC.

Conclusions: Children overweight or obese, as well as children exhibiting being thin/very thin, were associated with ECC independent of socioeconomic variables and a high frequency of sugar consumption.