[Pattern of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption-based on group-based trajectory modeling and its association with...

Objective: To explore the prospective association between consumption pattern of sugar-sweetened beverages and childhood periodontal health. Methods: This study was based on a 4-year longitudinal cohort of children from Bengbu, Anhui province. Pattern of sugar-sweetened beverages was determined by group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) through annual child-reported questionnaire. Association between sugar-sweetened beverages pattern with plague index and gingivitis was explored through multivariate linear and logistic regression. Results: A total of 997 children including 418 boys and 579 girls were included in this study, with an average age of (11.00±0.70) years at the final wave. Four consumption patterns on sugar-sweetened beverages were identified by GBTM: persistent low group (80.70%), gradually decreasing group (12.40%), decreasing after increasing group (2.20%) and gradually increasing group (4.70%). Compared with the persistent low group (1.08±0.70), the Plague index among gradually increasing group (1.73±0.80) was significantly higher (t=4.00, P<0.001). The prevalence of gingivitis was significantly higher among children in the gradually increasing group (12.80%) than that in the persistent low group (3.00%) (χ(2)=12.40, P<0.001). After controlling for related confounders, results suggested that Plague index increased by 0.58 (95%CI: 0.27-0.89) and 0.38 (95%CI: 0.03-0.73) in the gradually increasing group and "decreasing follow the increase" group, respectively when compared with the persistent low group. The risk for gingivitis was 4.42 times (95%CI: 1.65-12.20, P=0.003) higher in the gradually increasing group. Conclusion: Our data suggested that children with higher sugar-sweetened beverages consumption during the transition period from childhood to adolescence were under higher risk for periodontal diseases.