Dietary patterns, nutritional status, and dental caries in schoolchildren from Bagua Grande, Peruvian Amazon
Keywords:
diet; dietary patterns; nutritional status; dental caries; child nutrition disordersAbstract
Introduction: Dental caries and child weight excess are major public health problems in vulnerable settings; in the Peruvian Amazonia, inadequate dietary patterns and limited access to preventive programs exacerbate them.
Objective: To analyze the relationship between dietary patterns, nutritional status, and dental caries prevalence in schoolchildren from Bagua Grande, Amazonas.
Methods: Cross-sectional observational study (December 2018-December 2019) using 310 school children. Anthropometric measurements, a 24-hour dietary recall, and an oral examination were performed, using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth index. Body mass index was classified using age- and sex-specific percentiles from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated. The Kruskal–Wallis test (age–caries) and chi-square test of homogeneity (diet–nutritional status) were applied.
Results: 80.4% had poor/very poor diets. All participants consumed at least one item from the cereals/tubers group (main carbohydrate source), with a mean frequency of 4.55±1.53 times/day. Fruit intake was reported by 66.5%, and 40.3% reported vegetables intake. Nutritional status: 69.0% healthy weight, 16.5% overweight, 14.2% obesity. Dental caries prevalence was 88.1%, with an average of 2-3 decayed teeth per child. There was an association between age and dental caries, but not between dietary pattern and nutritional status, nor between energy intake and dental caries frequency.
Conclusions: Schoolchildren exhibit energy-dense dietary habits, a high prevalence of dental caries and weight excess. Comprehensive school programs are required in the Amazonian regions, integrating nutritional education, anthropometric monitoring, and oral health promotion.
Downloads
References
1. Cascaes AM, da Silva NRJD, Fernandez MDS, et al. Ultra-processed food consumption and dental caries in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Nutr. 2022;27:1-10. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114522002409.
2. Lane MM, Gamage E, Du S, et al. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ. 2024;384:e077310. DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2023-077310.
3. van Meijeren-van Lunteren AW, Voortman T, Wolvius EB, et al. Adherence to dietary guidelines and dental caries among children: a longitudinal cohort study. Eur J Public Health. 2023;33(4):653-8. DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckad097.
4. Manohar N, Hayen A, Scott J, et al. Impact of dietary trajectories on obesity and dental caries in preschool children: Findings from the Healthy Smiles Healthy Kids Study. Nutrients. 2021;13(7):2240. DOI: 10.3390/nu13072240.
5. Sabbagh S, Mohammadi-Nasrabadi F, Ravaghi V, et al. Food insecurity and dental caries prevalence in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2023;33(4):346-63. DOI: 10.1111/ipd.13041.
6. Melo G, Aguilar-Farias N, Lopez Barrera E, et al. Structural responses to the obesity epidemic in Latin America: what are the next steps for food and physical activity policies? Lancet Reg Health Am. 2023;21:100486. DOI:10.1016/j.lana.2023.100486.
7. Curi-Quinto K, Ortiz-Panozo E, López de Romaña D. Malnutrition in all its forms and socio-economic disparities in children under 5 years of age and women of reproductive age in Peru. Public Health Nutr. 2020;23(S1):s89-100. DOI: 10.1017/S136898001900315X.
8. Shimabuku RL, Delgado CA, Nakachi G, et al. Double burden of excess weight and anemia in Latin American children up to 2019. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2020;252(2):159-68. DOI: 10.1620/tjem.252.159.
9. Monge-Rojas R, Vargas-Quesada R, Previdelli AN, et al. A Landscape of Micronutrient Dietary Intake by 15- to 65-Years-Old Urban Population in 8 Latin American Countries: Results From the Latin American Study of Health and Nutrition. Food Nutr Bull. 2024;45(2_suppl):S11-25. DOI: 10.1177/03795721231215267.
10. Vasconcelos K, Evangelista S, Silva RA, et al. Assessing the association between dental caries and nutritional status in children from the Brazilian State of Amazonas. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2019;12(4):293-6. DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10005-1638
11. Kennedy T, Rodd C, Daymont C, et al. The association of body mass index and severe early childhood caries in young children in Winnipeg, Manitoba: A cross-sectional study. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2020;30(5):626-33. DOI: 10.1111/ipd.12629.
12. Yen CE, Lin YY, Hu SW. Anthropometric status, diet, and dental caries among schoolchildren. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(13):7027. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18137027.
13. Marques-Martínez L, García Miralles E, Borrell García C. Relación entre la caries dental y la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea en niños. Nutr Clin Diet Hosp. 2021;41(3):105-10. DOI: 10.12873/413marques.
14. Esin K, Ballı-Akgöl B, Sözlü S, et al. Association between dental caries and adherence to the Mediterranean diet, dietary intake, and body mass index in children. BMC Oral Health. 2024;24(1):297. DOI: 10.1186/s12903-024-04020-3.
15. Bud ES, Bica CI, Stoica OE, et al. Observational study regarding the relationship between nutritional status, dental caries, mutans streptococci, and Lactobacillus bacterial colonies. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(7):3551. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18073551.
16. Barbosa MCF, Reis CLB, Lopes CMCF, et al. Assessing the association between nutritional status, caries, and gingivitis in schoolchildren: A cross-sectional study. Glob Pediatr Health. 2021;8:2333794X211001237. DOI: 10.1177/2333794X211001237.
17. González-Campins C, Soler LF, Guasch-Niubó O, et al. Nutritional Quality of the Mid-Afternoon Snack of Schooled Children between the Ages of 3 to 12 Years in Three Areas in Spain. Nutrients. 2024;16(12):1944. DOI: 10.3390/nu16121944.
18. Moreno-Barrera A, Morales-Ruiz P, Ribas Pérez D, et al. Analysis and evaluation of dental caries in a Mexican population: A descriptive transversal study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(5):3873. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20053873.
19. Tsang C, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Patel P, et al. Early childhood oral health and nutrition in urban and rural Nepal. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(14):2456. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16142456.
20. Bassa S, Workie SB, Kassa Y, et al. Prevalence of dental caries and relation with nutritional status among school-age children in resource-limited setting of southern Ethiopia. BMC Oral Health. 2023;23(1):84. DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-02786-6.
21. Salazar-Burgos RJ, Oyhenart EE. Estado nutricional y condiciones de vida de escolares rurales de Tucumán, Argentina: un estudio observacional transversal. Rev Esp Nutr Hum Diet. 2021;25(1):111-20. DOI: 10.14306/renhyd.25.1.1162.
22. Cordero ML, Cesani MF. Nutritional transition in schoolchildren from Tucumán, Argentina: A cross-sectional analysis of nutritional status and body composition. Am J Hum Biol. 2019;31(4):e23257. DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23257.
23. Tapia-Veloz E, Gozalbo M, Tapia-Veloz G, et al. Evaluation of school children nutritional status in Ecuador using nutrimetry: A proposal of an education protocol to address the determinants of malnutrition. Nutrients. 2022;14(18):3686. DOI: 10.3390/nu14183686.
24. Kantorowicz M, Olszewska-Czyż I, Lipska W, et al. Impact of dietary habits on the incidence of oral diseases. Dent Med Probl. 2022;59(4):547-54. DOI: 10.17219/dmp/134749.
25. Qureshi A, Safdar NF, Qureshi H, et al. Dietary factors influencing the caries status of adults in Karachi, Pakistan: Initial findings. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(12):6980. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19126980.
26. Cattaneo C, Mambrini SP, Gilardini L, et al. Impact of 4-week of a restricted Mediterranean diet on taste perception, anthropometric, and blood parameters in subjects with severe obesity. Front Nutr. 2023;10:1196157. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1196157.
27. Dimaisip-Nabuab J, Duijster D, Benzian H, et al. Nutritional status, dental caries and tooth eruption in children: A longitudinal study in Cambodia, Indonesia and Lao PDR. BMC Pediatr. 2018;18(1):300. DOI: 10.1186/s12887-018-1277-6.
28. Reddy KV, Thakur AS, Moon N, et al. Association between overweight and dental caries among 8–13 year old school children in central India. J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent. 2018;16:22-5. DOI: 10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_91_17.
29. Muhoozi GKM, Atukunda P, Skaare AB, et al. Effects of nutrition and hygiene education on oral health and growth among toddlers in rural Uganda: Follow-up of a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Trop Med Int Health. 2018;23(4):391-404. DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13036.
30. Vélez-Vásquez VA, Villavicencio-Caparó E, Cevallos-Romero S, et al. Impacto de la experiencia de caries en la calidad de vida relacionada a la salud bucal; Machángara, Ecuador. Rev Estomatol Herediana. 2019;29(3):203-12. DOI: 10.20453/reh.v29i3.3604.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Carlos Humberto Campodónico-Reátegui, Juana Delgadillo-Ávila, Víctor Moreno-Prieto, María Soledad Porras-Roque
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All content published in this journal is Open Access, distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 License.
It allows:
- Copy and redistribute published material in any medium or format.
- Adapt the content.
This will be done under the following terms:
- Attribute the authors' credits and indicate whether changes were made, in which case it must be in a reasonable way.
- Non-commercial use.
- Recognize the journal where it is published.
The copyrights of each article are maintained, without restrictions.
