Theory based interventions for caries related sugar intake in adults: systematic review

BACKGROUND: Theories of behavior change are essential in the design of effective behaviour change strategies. No studies have assessed the effectiveness of interventions based on psychological theories to reduce sugar intake related to dental caries. The study assessed the effect of interventions based on Social Congition Models (SCMs) on sugar intake in adults, when compared with educational interventions or no intervention. METHODS: A range of papers were considered: Systematic review Systematic Reviews with or without Meta Analyses; Randomised Controlled Trials; Controlled Clinical Trials and Before and after studies, of interventions based on Social Cognition Models aimed at dietary intake of sugar in adults. The Cochrane database including: Oral Health Group’s Trials Register (2015), MEDLINE (from 1966 to September 2015), EMBASE (from 1980 to September 2015), PsycINFO (from 1966 to September 2015) were searched. RESULTS: No article met the full eligibility criteria for the current systematic review so no articles were included. CONCLUSION: There is a need for more clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of interventions based on psychological theory in reducing dietary sugar intake among adults. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO: CRD42015026357. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40359-017-0194-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.