Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free controls: Stunting
One Nepalese cross-sectional study found caries severity significantly correlated with chronic malnutrition/stunting (HAZ; p<0.0001), especially in rural children; ungraded, no effect size reported.
What each review found
Current versions only| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free children Growth stunting / low linear growth (height-for-age z-score) · Children in early childhood (0-6 years) · Nepal (urban and rural), Tsang et al. 2019 (Nepal) One Nepalese cross-sectional study found caries severity significantly correlated with chronic malnutrition/stunting (HAZ; p<0.0001), especially in rural children; ungraded, no effect size reported. The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. (2023) All outcomes | The severity of child caries measured by the dmft index correlated with mouth pain and both chronic (stunting) and acute malnutrition (HAZ score) (p<0.0001). | 1 study · 836 participants | GRADE not reported |
Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free children Growth stunting / low linear growth (height-for-age z-score) · Children in early childhood (0-6 years) · Vietnam (south and central; ages 1-6), Khanh et al. 2015 (Vietnam; pulp-involved caries) In a Vietnamese cross-sectional study, pulp-involved caries was associated with significantly lower height-for-age (mean difference 0.66, p=0.001); ungraded. The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. (2023) All outcomes | MD 0.66 | 1 study · 593 participants | GRADE not reported |
Early childhood caries / severe early childhood caries vs Caries-free children Growth stunting / low linear growth (height-for-age z-score) · Children in early childhood (0-6 years) · 1-year follow-up, Cambodia (children <24 months at baseline), Renggli et al. 2021 (Cambodia) In a Cambodian 1-year cohort, children with severe caries had nearly double the odds of transitioning to low height-for-age (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0-3.0; borderline); ungraded. The bi-directional relationship between growth stunting and early childhood caries: a rapid review. (2023) All outcomes | OR 1.8 [1.0, 3.0] | 1 study · 1307 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.
- Stunting Malnutrition Associated with Severe Tooth Decay in Cambodian Toddlers. · 2021 · included by 1 of these review
- Chronic malnutrition and oral health status in children aged 1 to 5 years: An observational study. · 2020 · included by 1 of these review
- Associations between Child Snack and Beverage Consumption, Severe Dental Caries, and Malnutrition in Nepal. · 2020 · included by 1 of these review
- The bidirectional relationship between weight, height and dental caries among preschool children in China. · 2019 · included by 1 of these review
- Early Childhood Oral Health and Nutrition in Urban and Rural Nepal. · 2019 · included by 1 of these review
- Early Childhood Caries, Mouth Pain, and Nutritional Threats in Vietnam. · 2015 · 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.