Sugar consumption and dental caries: evidence from 90 countries

Abstract

An examination is made of data on dental caries amongst 12-year-old children and sugar consumption of the total population for 90 countries. For the whole data set, DMFT score tends to rise with sugar consumption. The linear relationship between the logarithm of DMFT and sugar is estimated to have a slope of 0.021 per kg/year per head of population (P < 0.0001), and accounts for 28% of the variation in DMFT. In contrast, when data from 29 industrialised nations are analysed separately, there is no evidence of a sugar-caries relationship; the slope of the linear regression line is estimated to be -0.013, not significantly different from zero. This latter result is in agreement with the considerable evidence of a lack of strong relationship between the amount of sugar consumed and caries occurrence in Western countries. These results suggest that, in addition to sugar, other factors, such as other aspects of diet, exposure to fluoride and genetic effects, must be taken into account when seeking to explain variations in caries prevalence, and when making recommendations for caries control.

Saúde bucal na população indígena Xavánte de Pimentel Barbosa, Mato Grosso, Brasil

“…O aumento do consumo de alimentos industrializados -em especial, açúcar e outros tipos de carboidratos fermentáveis -é tido como o principal fator envolvido na alteração do perfil de saúde bucal dessas populações. Há ampla literatura que indica a estreita e positiva relação entre consumo de açúcar e prevalência de cárie (Gustafsson et al, 1954;Newbrum, 1982;Pilot, 1988;Sheihan, 1984;Woodward & Walker, 1994).…”

Guidelines for sugar consumption in Europe: Is a quantitative approach justified?

“…To examine whether sugar reductions at a population level relate to lower caries in practice, changes in sugar supply were plotted against changes in caries experience in 67 countries using the Sreebny (1982) and Woodward & Walker (1994) data sets (Figure 3). The results show reductions in both sugar supply and caries in 18 countries (lower left quadrant of Figure 3) but in 25 countries there has been an increase in sugar supply combined with a reduction in caries experience (lower right quadrant of Figure 3).…”

“…In a review of caries prevalence in relation to diet, Marthaler (1990) concluded`in those countries where caries prevalence is declining, the overall consumption of sugar is ceasing to be the most important Figure 2 National sugar supply vs dental caries in 12 y olds for 90 countries. Source: Woodward & Walker (1994); industrial r 7 0.09 NS: developing r 0.49, P`0.01.…”

“…Data from epidemiological studies (Sreebny, 1982;Woodward & Walker, 1994) suggest that, in the absence of a sugar supply, there would still be some caries. This is to be expected since other carbohydrates are potentially cariogenic (Kashket et al, 1996;FAO, 1998).…”

The Relationship Between Diet, Nutrition and Dental Health: an Overview and Update for the 90s

“…More recently Woodward & Walker (1994) have published data on per capita sugars consumption in 12-year-old children from 90 countries. DMFT increased with sugars consumption, but the rate of increase was lower than that found by Sreebny (1982).…”