Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40451156›Full record

ArticleCaries research2026

Maternal Psychological Well-Being and Caries Experience in 3-Year-Old Offspring: Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) Study.

Wen Cheng, Chin-Ying Stephen Hsu, Carolina Un Lam, Johan Gunnar Eriksson, Helen Chen, Shiao-Yng Chan, Yung Seng Lee, Mary Foong-Fong Chong, Kok Hian Tan, Michael Meaney and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Caries research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Wen ChengDepartment of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Chin-Ying Stephen HsuFaculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Carolina Un LamFaculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Johan Gunnar ErikssonSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Helen ChenDepartment of Psychological Medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Shiao-Yng ChanSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Yung Seng LeeSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Mary Foong-Fong ChongSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Kok Hian TanDuke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
Michael MeaneySingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Yap Seng ChongSingapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Rosalind J WrightDepartment of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Aderonke A AkinkugbeDepartment of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA, aderonke.akinkugbe@mssm.edu.

Funding

Scholars in Environmental Pediatrics, Reproductive Health, and Life Course ScienceK12ES033594 · NIEHS · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · PI Rosalind J Wright · 2022 to 2026
$2.3M
NIDCR NIH HHS L40 DE028120NIEHS NIH HHS K12 ES033594
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDental caries is a biofilm-mediated, multifactorial disease of the dental hard tissues. Maternal psychosocial and behavioral factors can affect a child's risk for many chronic childhood conditions including dental caries. We examined the relationship between maternal psychological well-being during and after pregnancy on caries experience in 3-year-old offspring.

methodsUsing data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study (N = 667), maternal psychological well-being including depressive symptoms (Edinburg Postnatal Depression scale [EPDS]), anxiety symptoms (State Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI]), and sleep quality were measured. Offspring dental caries experience was defined as having at least one decayed, missing, and filled teeth or surface (dmft ≥1 vs. 0/dmfs ≥1 vs. 0). We estimated associations between maternal psychological well-being in the pre- and postnatal periods with offspring dental caries experience using logistic regression models adjusted for several maternal and child demographic and socioeconomic factors.

resultsThe mean maternal age at delivery was 31 (SD: 5.1) years with ethnic distribution of 55% Chinese, 28% Malay, and 17% Indian; 8.6% of mothers had a prenatal EPDS score ≥15 indicating probable depression and 44% of the children had dmft ≥1. Children of mothers with high prenatal EPDS scores (≥15) had 1.57 times (95% CI: 0.85-2.93) the adjusted odds of dental caries experience as compared to children of mothers with prenatal EPDS score <15, although this association was not statistically significant. Moreover, children of mothers with consistently high/changing EPDS and STAI scores in the pre- and postnatal periods had adjusted odds of caries experience of 1.65 (95% CI: 1.01-2.72) and 1.24 (95% CI: 0.89-1.74), respectively, when compared to children whose mothers had consistently low EPDS and STAI scores, though only EPDS association was statistically significant. Associations with poor sleep quality followed a similar direction, although not statistically significant.

conclusionWhile the current findings did not consistently demonstrate statistically significant associations, they suggest a potential role of maternal psychological well-being during and after pregnancy on children's oral health status.

Indexed as

Dental CariesMothersAdultAnxietyChild, PreschoolDepressionDMF IndexFemaleHumansMalePregnancyPsychological Well-BeingSingaporeAnxietyDental cariesDepressionEpidemiologic birth cohortPsychological well-being

Identifiers

PMID40451156
PMCPMC13200212

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.