Early childhood caries (ECC) is a typical oral well being drawback, significantly in deprived and growing populations. Its causes are multifaceted, together with feeding practices like breastfeeding. The hyperlink between breastfeeding and ECC is unclear.
Key findings
- No important affiliation was discovered between breastfeeding and the event of early childhood caries (ECC).
- Nighttime breastfeeding was related to an elevated danger of ECC.
- Breastfeeding for lower than 12 or 18 months might have a protecting impact in opposition to ECC, whereas breastfeeding for twenty-four months or longer didn’t present a major distinction or safety.
Purpose
This systematic evaluation and meta-analysis goals to reply the next analysis questions:
- Is there an affiliation between breastfeeding and ECC?
- Does the prevalence of ECC differ amongst kids breastfed for varied durations?
- Does nocturnal breastfeeding improve the danger of ECC?
Strategies
The protocol was registered in PROSPERO. It adopted the JBI methodology for systematic evaluations of etiology and danger, adhering to PRISMA 2020 pointers.
The evaluation included cohort and case-control research analyzing the affiliation between breastfeeding and ECC in kids beneath six.
Research have been recognized by means of 5 digital databases and backward quotation chasing till Could 2023.
Information extraction was carried out independently by two reviewers utilizing JBI SUMARI instruments, and meta-analyses have been carried out utilizing Evaluation Supervisor software program.
Outcomes
Description of Included Research
- This systematic evaluation included 31 research (22 cohort research and 9 case-control research) analyzing the affiliation between breastfeeding and early childhood caries (ECC) in kids beneath six years outdated.
- The research have been printed between 1994 and 2023 and included a complete of 15,236 preschool kids.
- Most research have been carried out in middle-income international locations like Brazil, with some in high-income international locations.
- ECC was assessed utilizing varied measures, together with dmfs, dmft, dft, dfs, and ICDAS standards.
Major Findings
- Breastfeeding vs. Non-Breastfeeding: Meta-analyses discovered no important distinction in dental caries between breastfed and non-breastfed kids, though sensitivity evaluation advised potential safety from breastfeeding.
- Nighttime Breastfeeding: Nighttime breastfeeding was related to an elevated danger of ECC.
- Period of Breastfeeding:
- No important distinction in ECC was discovered for breastfeeding durations lower than 4 or 6 months.
- Case-control research confirmed fewer dental caries in kids breastfed for lower than 6 months in comparison with 6 months or longer.
- Youngsters breastfed for lower than 12 or 18 months had fewer dental caries than these breastfed for longer durations.
- No important distinction or a protecting impact was discovered for breastfeeding durations of 24 months or longer.
Examine quotation:
doi: 10.3390/nu16091355. PMID: 38732602; PMCID: PMC11085424.
Feedback:
The examine design and methodology have been well-structured, following established pointers (JBI and PRISMA). The authors carried out a complete search throughout 5 databases and included a considerable variety of research (31 research, 15,236 kids), enhancing the statistical energy of their analyses. Nevertheless, the examine’s high quality is restricted by important heterogeneity within the included research, significantly in defining and measuring breastfeeding practices and ECC. This heterogeneity might result in biased outcomes and restrict the generalisability of the findings.
The exclusion of non-English research and the give attention to high- and middle-income international locations might introduce choice and publication biases. It additionally didn’t differentiate between unique breastfeeding (solely breast milk) and combined feeding (breast milk and components). Due to this fact, the affect of supplementing breastfeeding with components on ECC can’t be decided from this examine.
Picture Credit score:
Picture by Wendy Wei on Pexels
