Burden of dental caries in individuals experiencing food insecurity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Context Food insecurity affects approximately 2.37 billion people worldwide. Individuals experiencing food insecurity are more likely to exhibit poor health-related endpoints. Dental caries, a highly prevalent noncommunicable disease, is modulated by an interplay between biological, behavioral, and environmental factors. Objective This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess whether individuals experiencing food insecurity were more likely to exhibit dental caries than individuals facing food security. Data Sources The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Ovid, CINAHL, LILACS, and APA PsycINFO databases were checked from inception to November 2021. Grey literature and Google Scholar were also examined. An updated search was conducted in August 2022. Observational studies were included if they evaluated the association between dental caries and food insecurity status. Data Extraction Data extraction was performed by two reviewers. Data Analysis Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted using R language. In total, 514 references were retrieved from databases, of which 14 articles were included in qualitative synthesis and 7 were merged into meta-analysis. The results of an inverse-variance meta-analysis (OR = 1.62; 95%CI, 1.01–2.60) and a meta-analysis of binary data (OR = 1.66; 95%CI, 1.36–2.02) demonstrated that food-insecure individuals were more likely to exhibit dental caries than food-secure individuals. Inverse-variance meta-analyses appraising multiple strata of food security also showed that individuals experiencing marginal food security (OR = 1.48; 95%CI, 1.28–1.72), individuals experiencing low food security (OR = 1.26; 95%CI, 1.01–1.57), and those experiencing very low food security (OR = 1.33; 95%CI, 1.04–1.71) were more likely to exhibit dental caries than individuals experiencing full food security. Conclusion Dental caries is associated with food insecurity. Individuals living with food insecurity are more likely to exhibit dental caries than those who have food security. Systematic Review Registration PROSPERO registration number CRD42021268582.