Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Scoping Review of Oral Health-Related Birth Cohort Studies: Toward a Global Consortium

Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor Andrew Rugg-Gunn

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

© International Association for Dental Research and American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research 2022. The multidisciplinary nature and long duration of birth cohort studies allow investigation of the relationship between general and oral health and indicate the most appropriate stages in life to intervene. To date, the worldwide distribution of oral health-related birth cohort studies (OHRBCSs) has not been mapped, and a synthesis of information on methodological characteristics and outcomes is not available. We mapped published literature on OHRBCSs, describing their oral health-related data and methodological aspects. A 3-step search strategy was adopted to identify published studies using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and OVID databases. Studies with baseline data collection during pregnancy or within the first year of life or linked future oral health data to exposures during either of these 2 life stages were included. Studies examining only mothers' oral health and specific populations were excluded. In total, 1,721 articles were suitable for initial screening of titles and abstracts, and 528 articles were included in the review, identifying 120 unique OHRBCSs from 34 countries in all continents. The review comprised literature from the mid-1940s to the 21st century. Fifty-four percent of the OHRBCSs started from 2000 onward, and 75% of the cohorts were from high-income and only 2 from low-income countries. The participation rate between the baseline and the last oral health follow-up varied between 7% and 93%. Ten cohorts that included interventions were mostly from 2000 and with fewer than 1,000 participants. Seven data-linkage cohorts focused mostly on upstream characteristics and biological aspects. The most frequent clinical assessment was dental caries, widely presented as decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT/dmft). Periodontal conditions were primarily applied as isolated outcomes or as part of a classification system. Socioeconomic classification, ethnicity, and country- or language-specific assessment tools varied across countries. Harmonizing definitions will allow combining data from different studies, adding considerable strength to data analyses; this will be facilitated by forming a global consortium.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Peres KG, Nascimento GG, Gupta A, Singh A, Cassiano LS, Rugg-Gunn AJ

Publication type: Review

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Dental Research

Year: 2022

Volume: 101

Issue: 6

Pages: 632-646

Print publication date: 01/06/2022

Online publication date: 10/01/2022

Acceptance date: 02/04/2018

ISSN (print): 0022-0345

ISSN (electronic): 1544-0591

Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/00220345211062475

DOI: 10.1177/00220345211062475


Share