Soft drink consumption and periodontal status in pregnant women

Abstract

Background Periodontal disease is associated with metabolic syndrome, and during pregnancy, it is linked to preeclampsia and preterm birth. We hypothesized that soft drink consumption, which has also been associated with metabolic disorders, may also be linked to periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between soft drink consumption and periodontal status in pregnancy. Methods This was a cross‐sectional study nested in BRISA (Brazilian Ribeirão Preto and São Luís Birth Cohort Studies). Pregnant women (n = 1,185) completed a questionnaire and underwent periodontal examination from the 22nd to 25th week of pregnancy. The explanatory variable was the frequency of soft drink consumption (times per week). The outcome was periodontal status measured as the number of teeth with probing depth ≥4 mm with bleeding on probing (PD/BOP) or with clinical attachment level ≥4 mm (CAL). Means ratio (MR) was estimated using zero‐inflated Poisson, adjusted for maternal age and income. Results The higher tertile of consumption of soft drinks during pregnancy was associated with PD/BOP (MR = 1.34; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03 to 1.75); while the highest tertile of diastolic blood pressure was also associated to CAL (MR = 1.21; 95% CI 1:07 to 1.35). Conclusion High soft drink consumption was associated with the number of teeth with PD/BOP in pregnant women, suggesting that beverage consumption is a factor that contributes to the systemic inflammatory burden, which is common to periodontal disease, metabolic syndrome, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Evaluation of the Relationship between Drink Intake and Periodontitis Using KoGES Data

“…First, there have been very few studies on the relationship between soft drinks and periodontal health [20][21][22]. Fann et al reported a frequency-dependent relationship between the intake of soft drinks and periodontal disease in Taiwanese middle-aged adults.…”

“…Mechanisms linking soft drink intake and periodontal disease could involve the separate or combined effects of oxidative stress or bone mineralization [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Associations between heavy soft drink intake and periodontitis may be due to the induction of inflammatory pathways or metabolic syndrome resulting from excess sugar consumption, which has been previously associated with periodontal disease [20,[38][39][40]. However, further studies are needed to verify these potential mechanisms more precisely [21].…”

“…A previous study reported that high soft drink consumption was related to a higher number of teeth with deep periodontal pockets and bleeding on probing in pregnant women [20]. The study suggested that soft drink consumption could be a risk factor for systemic inflammation associated with periodontal disease [20]. However, this study had a small number of participants (n = 1185) and used very few adjusting factors for surveillance bias reduction.…”

“…The high consumption of soft drinks has been associated with systemic problems such as diabetes, obesity, fatty liver, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease [19]. A previous study reported that high soft drink consumption was related to a higher number of teeth with deep periodontal pockets and bleeding on probing in pregnant women [20]. The study suggested that soft drink consumption could be a risk factor for systemic inflammation associated with periodontal disease [20].…”

Is soft drink consumption associated with gestational hypertension? Results from the BRISA cohort

“…2) How many times a day do you take soft drinks? The frequencies of weekly intake (zero to seven days a week) and of daily intake (once to six times a day) of soft drinks reported by the women were multiplied and categorized as a dichotomous variable corresponding to no or low consumption (o7 times per week) or high consumption (X7 times per week) (14). This cutoff point was assumed since the majority of previous studies has shown that daily SSBs intake is associated to worse health outcomes, such as obesity and hypertension (8,9,15).…”