Does dental caries lead to stunting and wasting in children?

Abstract

Design This was a systematic review of the evidence on the impact of dental caries severity and prevalence on undernutrition (wasting and stunting) in children. Study selectionThe systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42018091581). A database search of Medline and Embase was conducted in March 2018 with an updated search in July 2019. Participants were children aged 0-18 years from countries of different income groups. The exposure variable was dental caries reported as prevalence, incidence and/or severity, or changes in those variables. The outcome variable was undernutrition; specifically, wasting (low weight-for-height) and stunting (low height-for-age) in children. Data analysisEvidence was grouped into caries of the permanent dentition, primary dentition, early childhood caries and severe early childhood caries as a risk factor for undernutrition. A best-availableevidence approach was applied to narrative synthesis. Evidence

EBD spotlight: Does dental caries increase the risk of undernutrition in children?

“…5 The aim of this systematic review was to determine the link between severity of dental caries and malnutrition (through assessing wasting or stunting in children). 1,2…”