Cross-sectional studyindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-SOD-129 standard review
Sugary drinks and tooth decay in Egyptian toddlers
Parental Feeding Styles, Sugary Drinks Intake, and Early Childhood Caries in Egyptian Children: A Mediation Analysis.
Overview
Taha A et al.. Int J Paediatr Dent 2025 · PMID 40468570 · DOI 10.1111/ipd.13324
In 412 Egyptian children aged 2-6, 84% drank sugary drinks daily and 81% had tooth decay; sugary drinks helped explain links between feeding styles and decay.
Does the study support the specific claim? Yes · Methodological quality: low
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Study feeding styles, sugary drinks and caries in Egyptian children.
- How was the study done?
Cross-sectional study with dental examinations.
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
412 children.
- What was actually found?
High caries and sugary-drink rates; drinks mediated part of the link.
- How large was the observed effect?
AOR 2.35 for instrumental feeding.
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Limiting sugary drinks matters for children's teeth in Egypt.
- What are the study's limitations?
Cross-sectional; one hospital.
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Supports the claim in an Egyptian setting.
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
Egypt-specific.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Cannot prove causation.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Taha A et al.
- Journal
- Int J Paediatr Dent
- Year
- 2025
- Identifier
- PMID 40468570 DOI 10.1111/ipd.13324
- Verification
- verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-26 + Crossref 2026-10-26
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
Not stated in abstract record
2. Research question
How do parental feeding styles relate to early childhood caries, and do sugary drinks mediate this?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Cross-sectional study – Cross-sectional hospital-based study with mediation analysis
- Population
Children aged 2-6 years at an Egyptian hospital
- Country
Egypt
- Period
2022-2023
- Sample size
412
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Children aged 2-6 attending the hospital
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Parental feeding styles; daily sugary drinks
- Comparator
Other feeding styles
- Endpoints
Early childhood caries (dmfs)
- Statistical methods
Negative binomial regression; PROCESS mediation
5. Actual results
- Results
80.8% had early childhood caries and 84.2% consumed sugary drinks daily. Instrumental feeding AOR 2.35 (1.82-3.03); encouragement-to-eat AOR 0.62 (0.50-0.77). Sugary drinks significantly mediated the association of control-over-feeding and emotional feeding with caries.
- Absolute risks
Caries prevalence 80.8%
- Authors' conclusion
ECC associated with feeding styles; sugary drinks mediated part of the associations.
6. Strengths
- Egypt-specific data
- Clinical caries examination
7. Weaknesses
- Cross-sectional
- Hospital sample
- Self-reported drinks
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- ROBINS-E
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- high
- Rationale
Cross-sectional; selection.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Mediation analysis in cross-sectional data cannot establish temporal order.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Regional context for C-SOD-11: daily sugary drinks are very common among young Egyptian children and are linked to caries.
11. Independent contrary findings
None.
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
Egypt-specific.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Weak design but relevant local data consistent with global evidence.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | low |
| Risk of bias | high |
| Precision of results | moderate |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | high |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
Prospective Egyptian data.
15. Linked fact checks
- Soft drinks cause tooth decay. – Studies supporting the claim