Asthma medication and risk of dental diseases in children - A prospective cohort study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Dental caries and enamel defects are the main causes of poor dental health in children, with a substantial impact on their well-being. Use of inhaled asthma medication is a suspected risk factor, but there is a lack of prospective studies investigating this and other prenatal and early life risk factors.

METHODS:

Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 mother-child cohort (COPSAC2010 ) consists of 700 women who were recruited at 24 weeks of pregnancy. 588 of their children participated in a dental examination at 6 years of age (84%) at the COPSAC2010 research unit. Caries was defined as decayed, missing, or filled surfaces. Enamel defect was defined as demarcated opacity, post-eruptive enamel breakdown, and/or atypical restoration on at least one molar. Caries and enamel defects were assessed in both deciduous and permanent dentitions.

RESULTS:

We found no associations between inhaled corticosteroids or β2 -agonists or asthma symptoms in early childhood and the risk of caries or enamel defects by 6 years of age. Furthermore, we found no strong pre-, peri-, or postnatal risk factors for dental diseases at 6 years, except from nominally significant associations between antibiotic use in pregnancy (OR = 1.25, [1.01-1.54]), maternal education level (OR = 1.57, [1.01-2.45]), having a dog at home (OR = 0.50, [0.27-0.93]), and risk of enamel defects.

CONCLUSIONS:

Use of inhaled corticosteroids, β2 -agonists, or asthma symptoms in the first 6 years of life were not associated with the development of caries or enamel defects. This finding is reassuring for parents and physicians prescribing asthma medication for young children.

• Authors: Pia Elisabeth Nørrisgaard, Dorte Haubek, Ann-Marie Malby Schoos, Jan Kühnisch, Bo L Chawes, Jakob Stokholm, Hans Bisgaard, Klaus Bønnelykke
• Journal: Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (Pediatr Allergy Immunol) Vol. 34 Issue 10 Pg. e14026 (10 2023) ISSN: 1399-3038 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 37877844 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2023 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Adrenal Cortex Hormones

Topics

• Animals
• Dogs
• Pregnancy
• Humans
• Child, Preschool
• Female
• Dental Caries
• Prospective Studies
• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Asthma (drug therapy, epidemiology)
• Adrenal Cortex Hormones