Manning Samantha, Alkadi Ahmed, Meng Ying, Xu Hongzhe, Wu Tong Tong, Xiao Jin
Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 265 Crittenden Boulevard, Rochester, 14642, USA.
Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester Medical Center, 625 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, 14620, USA.
BMC Oral Health. 2025 Jul 13;25(1):1154. doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-06434-z.
Dietary habits during early childhood significantly influence long-term health outcomes, particularly oral health. This study examines snack and drink consumption patterns among underserved U.S. children and their association with early childhood caries (ECC).
A birth cohort of 127 children, aged 1-2 years, from two university-affiliated clinics in Upstate New York was enrolled. Participants were Medicaid-eligible, and dietary data were collected through structured questionnaires at 12, 18, and 24 months. Snacks and drinks were categorized based on cariogenic potential. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify consumption patterns of snacks and drinks. The associations between the consumption pattern and ECC were assessed using multinomial regression models.
Three distinct snacks and drinks consumption patterns were identified: medium sweet + medium non-sweet, low sweet + high non-sweet, and high sweet + medium non-sweet. The study revealed dynamic changes in dietary patterns over time, with some children transitioning between healthier and less healthy clusters. Despite these distinct dietary behaviors, no significant association was found between any specific consumption pattern and the onset of ECC.
Despite identifying distinct snack and drink consumption patterns among young children from underserved communities, no significant association was observed between these patterns and the onset of ECC, highlighting the multifactorial nature of ECC.
幼儿期的饮食习惯对长期健康结果有显著影响，尤其是口腔健康。本研究调查了美国服务不足地区儿童的零食和饮料消费模式及其与幼儿龋齿（ECC）的关联。
招募了来自纽约州北部两家大学附属医院诊所的127名1 - 2岁儿童组成的出生队列。参与者符合医疗补助资格，通过在12、18和24个月时进行的结构化问卷调查收集饮食数据。零食和饮料根据致龋潜力进行分类。使用潜在类别分析（LCA）来确定零食和饮料的消费模式。使用多项回归模型评估消费模式与ECC之间的关联。
确定了三种不同的零食和饮料消费模式：中度甜食 + 中度非甜食、低度甜食 + 高度非甜食、高度甜食 + 中度非甜食。研究揭示了饮食模式随时间的动态变化，一些儿童在更健康和不太健康的类别之间转换。尽管有这些不同的饮食行为，但未发现任何特定消费模式与ECC发病之间存在显著关联。
尽管在服务不足社区的幼儿中确定了不同的零食和饮料消费模式，但未观察到这些模式与ECC发病之间存在显著关联，这突出了ECC的多因素性质。
