Question · asked by 1 review
Growth stunting (linear growth retardation, low height-for-age) vs Children without growth stunting (normal height-for-age): Early childhood caries (ECC)
- Population
- Children aged ≤6 years (early childhood)
- Intervention
- Growth stunting (linear growth retardation, low height-for-age)
- Comparison
- Children without growth stunting (normal height-for-age)
- Outcome
- Early childhood caries (ECC)
One Nigerian cross-sectional study reported a significant adjusted association between nutritional (stunting) status and ECC (APR 0.14, 95% CI 0.03-0.69); ungraded.
What each review found
Include earlier review versionsNo studies found 0 · 0%GRADE not reported 4 · 100%Very low 0 · 0%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Growth stunting (linear growth retardation, low height-for-age) vs Children without growth stunting (normal height-for-age) Early childhood caries (def-t/dmft caries experience) · Children in early childhood (0-6 years) · Nigeria (Ile-Ife, sub-urban), Folayan et al. 2019 (Nigeria; adjusted, model 3) One Nigerian cross-sectional study reported a significant adjusted association between nutritional (stunting) status and ECC (APR 0.14, 95% CI 0.03-0.69); ungraded. The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. (2023) All outcomes | APR 0.14 [0.03, 0.69] | 1 study · 370 participants | GRADE not reported |
Growth stunting (linear growth retardation, low height-for-age) vs Children without growth stunting (normal height-for-age) Early childhood caries (def-t/dmft caries experience) · Children in early childhood (0-6 years) · Brazil, Vieira et al. 2020 (Brazil) One Brazilian cross-sectional study found no significant association between chronic malnutrition (stunting) and caries (r=-0.091, p>0.05); ungraded. The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. (2023) All outcomes | Correlation (r) -0.091 | 1 study · 82 participants | GRADE not reported |
Growth stunting (linear growth retardation, low height-for-age) vs Children without growth stunting (normal height-for-age) Early childhood caries (def-t/dmft caries experience) · Children in early childhood (0-6 years) · 2-year follow-up, Ecuador (rural), Sokal-Gutierrez et al. 2016 (Ecuador; pre vs post intervention) A quasi-experimental Ecuadorian prevention program reduced both ECC (e.g., prevalence 53.8% to 30.3% at age 1) and malnutrition over 2 years; ungraded, no association effect estimate reported. The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. (2023) All outcomes | Pre/post ECC prevalence, dmft, and deep-caries proportion (2-year follow-up) Age 1: prevalence 53.8% to 30.3%, dmft 2.1 to 0.9; Age 2: prevalence 82% to 60%, dmft 5.3 to 3.0, deep caries 19% to 12% (pre vs post) | 1 study · 1575 participants | GRADE not reported |
Growth stunting (linear growth retardation, low height-for-age) vs Children without growth stunting (normal height-for-age) Early childhood caries (def-t/dmft caries experience) · Children in early childhood (0-6 years) · Indonesia (Makassar, Tamalanrea); community health center, Achmad et al. 2020 (Indonesia) In one Indonesian cross-sectional study, stunted children had a higher mean def-t caries index than normal-height children (p=0.001); ungraded. The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. (2023) All outcomes | MEAN 7.37 | 1 study · 208 participants | GRADE not reported |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. 2023 All outcomes | Not specified (included studies published 2015-2020; inclusion window 2012-2020) | 9 | Not applicable |
Studies behind the findings
The primary studies the full-text reviews tie to this outcome. Reviews with headline outcomes only do not list them here.
- Chronic malnutrition and oral health status in children aged 1 to 5 years: An observational study. · 2020 · included by 1 of these review
- Association between early childhood caries and malnutrition in a sub-urban population in Nigeria. · 2019 · included by 1 of these review
- Achmad et al. 2020 · included by 1 of these review
- Sokal-Gutierrez et al. 2016 · included by 1 of these review
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.