Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T12:58:27.405Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relationship between frequency of carbohydrates intake and dental caries: a cross-sectional study in Italian teenagers†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Davide Arcella ,
Livia Ottolenghi ,
Antonella Polimeni  and
Catherine Leclercq
Davide Arcella
Affiliation:
National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research (INRAN), Via Ardeatina 546, I-00178 Rome, Italy
Livia Ottolenghi
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, University «La Sapienza», Rome, Italy
Antonella Polimeni
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, University «La Sapienza», Rome, Italy
Catherine Leclercq*
Affiliation:
National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research (INRAN), Via Ardeatina 546, I-00178 Rome, Italy
*
*Corresponding author: Email leclercq@inran.it
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To propose an approach for investigation of the relationship between the frequency of carbohydrates intake and dental caries in real-life conditions.

Design:

The frequency of separate eating events (with the exclusion of lunch and dinner) and their sugars and starch content were assessed on the basis of diaries collected for seven consecutive days. The total number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) was assessed through clinical examination. The interrelation between DMFT and frequency of eating events was analysed through Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise forward linear regression analysis.

Setting:

Italy.

Subjects:

One hundred and ninety-three students (males and females, mean age 16 years) of a secondary school.

Results:

Individual DMFT varied between 0 (24% of subjects) and 12, with a mean of 3. Once lunch and dinner were excluded, the mean number of separate eating events was 2.9. A statistically significant relationship was found between DMFT and eating frequency thus defined. Correlations were calculated considering only eating events containing a proportion of sugars or starch higher than different cut-off levels. In a stepwise multiple regression model for DMFT, the frequency of ‘high sugars and high starch events’ accounted for 8% of the DMFT variance. Overall frequency of separate eating events defined according to their content of both sugars and starch accounted for 18% of the DMFT variance. A stronger correlation was found among males only.

Conclusions:

The precise characterisation of eating events in terms of their sugars and starch content allows us to explain a consistent percentage of the variability in DMFT.

Keywords

CariesSugarsStarchEating eventsPearson correlation coefficientStepwise linear regression analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , August 2002 , pp. 553 - 560
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2002

Footnotes

†

This paper was awarded as the ‘best original work presented by an under-35 scientist’ during the Congress of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition (Naples, March 2000).

References

1Konig, KG, Navia, JM. Nutritional role of sugars in oral health. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1995; 62(Suppl. 1): 275S–82S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Sheiham, A. Dietary effects on dental diseases. Public Health Nutr. 2001; 4(2B): 569–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3García-Closas, R, García-Closas, M, Serra-Majem, L. A cross-sectional study of dental caries, intake of confectionery and foods rich in starch and sugars, and salivary counts of Streptococcus mutans in children in Spain. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1997; 66(5): 1257–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Rugg-Gunn, AJ, Hackett, AF, Appleton, DR, Jenkins, GN, Eastoe, JE. Relationship between dietary habits and caries increment assessed over two years in 405 English adolescent school children. Arch. Oral Biol. 1984; 29(12): 983–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Burt, BA, Eklund, SA, Morgan, KJ, Larkin, FE, Guire, KE, Brown, LO, et al. The effects of sugars intake and frequency of ingestion on dental caries increment in a three-year longitudinal study. J. Dental Res. 1988; 67(11): 1422–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6Woodward, M, Walker, AR. Sugar consumption and dental caries: evidence from 90 countries. Br. Dental J. 1994; 176(8): 297–302.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Institute of European Food Studies (IEFS). The Effect of Survey Duration on the Estimation of Food Chemical Intakes. Report No. 3. Dublin: IEFS, 1998.Google Scholar
8Lambe, J, Kearney, J, Leclercq, C, Zunft, HF, De Henauw, S, Lamberg-Allardt, CJ, et al. The influence of survey duration on estimates of food intakes and its relevance for public health nutrition and food safety issues. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 2000; 54(2): 166–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Leclercq, C, Leomporra, L, Berardi, D, Sorbillo, MR, Ottolenghi, L, Polimeni, A. An analysis of the consumption pattern of sugar free chewing gums in a sample of Italian teenagers with a view of caries protection. In: Milano prevenzione – Nutrizione Genetica Ambiente, dal bambino all'adulto. XXX Riunione Generale Società Italiana di Nutrizione Umana, Milan, Italy, 26–29 November, 1998 Milan: CSH srl, 1998.Google Scholar
10Leclercq, C, Berardi, D, Sorbillo, MR, Lambe, J. Intake of saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K and cyclamate in Italian teenagers: present levels and projections. Food Additives Contam. 1999; 16(3): 99–109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Leclercq, C, Cerreto, R, Berardi, D, Arcella, D, Polimeni, A, Ottolenghi, L. Association between dental caries and eating events in a sample of Italian teenagers. In: Epidemiology for Sustainable Health. Proceedings of the XV International Scientific Meeting of the International Epidemiological AssociationFlorence, Italy31 August–4 September, 1999 Florence: IEA, 1999.Google Scholar
12Arcella, D, Ottolenghi, L, Polimeni, A, Berardi, D, Leclercq, C. Individuazione degli eventi cariogeni attraverso l'analisi della correlazione tra carie dentale e occasioni di consumo. Giornale Italiano di Nutrizione Clinica e Metabolismo 2000; 9: 48.Google Scholar
13World Health Organization (WHO). Oral Health Surveys – Basic Methods. Geneva: WHO, 1987.Google Scholar
14Akpata, ES, al-Shammery, AR, Saeed, HI. Dental caries, sugar consumption and restorative dental care in 12–13-year-old children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Community Dentist. Oral Epidemiol. 1992; 20(6): 343–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15 National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research. Recipes database. Microdata files, National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research, Rome, 1999.Google Scholar
16Carnovale, E, Marletta, L. Tabelle di Composizione degli Alimenti. Rome: National Institute of Nutrition, 1997.Google Scholar
17World Health Organization (WHO). Energy and Protein Requirements. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series No. 724. Geneva: WHO, 1985.Google Scholar
18SAS Institute, Inc. SAS/STAT User's Guide, Version 6.12. Cary, NC: SAS Institute, Inc., 1989.Google Scholar
19Beighton, D, Adamson, A, Rugg-Gunn, A. Associations between dietary intake, dental caries experience and salivary bacterial levels in 12-year-old English schoolchildren. Arch. Oral Biol. 1996; 41(3): 271–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Papas, AS, Joshi, A, Palmer, CA, Giunta, JL, Dwyer, JT. Relationship of diet to root caries. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1995; 61(2): 423S–9S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Kandelman, D. Sugar, alternative sweeteners and meal frequency in relation to caries prevention: new perspectives. Br. J. Nutr. 1997; 77(Suppl. 1): S121–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22Hackett, AF, Rugg-Gunn, AJ, Appleton, DR, Allinson, M, Eastoe, JE. Sugars-eating habits of 405 11- to 14-year-old English children. Br. J. Nutr. 1984; 51(3): 347–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed