Maternal health during pregnancy and oral health of 4-year-olds: a birth cohort study from Brazil

Data were collected by trained interviewers at primary healthcare units and hospitals during pregnancy and childbirth, and by trained dentists when the children were 4 years old. A total of 3,644 mothers and 3,645 babies were included in the study, which evaluated the association between systemic diseases, maternal physical activity, weight gain during pregnancy, and the oral health of four-year-old children enrolled in the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort (Brazil). Exposure variables included systemic diseases, maternal physical activity, and gestational weight gain. Outcome variables were dental caries and caries experience in four-year-old children, assessed using the ICDAS index. Statistical analyses were performed using the Stata 15 software, and they included Pearson's chi-square test and Poisson regression to estimate prevalence ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of dental caries in children (PR: 1.12; 95%CI: 1.01-1.23). Maternal physical activity before or during pregnancy was considered a protective effect against dental caries in the unadjusted analysis ([RP: 0.82; 95%CI: 0.71-0.93] [RP: 0.60; 95%CI 0.44-0.81]), respectively, but this association was no longer significant after adjusting for confounding factors. The presence of maternal systemic diseases during pregnancy was not associated with childhood caries. In conclusion, maternal systemic diseases during pregnancy were not associated with dental caries in children. On the other hand, an excessive increase in maternal weight during pregnancy was associated with poorer oral health among children.