The rs35874116 single nucleotide polymorphism increases sweet intake and the risk of severe early childhood caries: a case–control study

BACKGROUND: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide among children. The rs35874116 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the sweet receptor gene TAS1R2 has been associated with dental caries at a high risk in permanent teeth among school children and adults. To date, little is known about the association of this SNP with sweet intake and caries risk in the primary school children. METHODS: Total of 236 children were included, namely 118 subjects in the non-caries (NC) group and severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) group, respectively. Oral mucosa cells were collected from all the selected children, and the full length of exon 3 in TAS1R2 was sequenced to analyse rs35874116 polymorphism. A questionnaire was used to collect information about socio-demographic information, frequency of sweet intake and oral hygiene habits. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to assess the relationship of rs35874116 polymorphism with frequency of sweet intake and S-ECC among the five-year-old children. RESULTS: Children with the TT genotype of rs35874116 had a higher frequency of sweet intake than CT/CC carriers (51.3% vs. 32.7%; x(2) = 5.436, p = 0.020), and S-ECC individuals were more likely to be TT genotype carriers than NC individuals (53.5% vs. 46.5%; x(2) = 4.353, p = 0.037). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the TT genotype of rs35874116 was not only significantly related to the frequency of sweet intake (OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.14–4.44) but also significantly associated with S-ECC (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.01 ~ 4.42). CONCLUSIONS: The rs35874116 polymorphism might increase sweet intake and the risk of S-ECC among five-year-old children in Nanning, China.