Content analysis of advertisements related to oral health in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: The evidence about the content of TV advertisements broadcast during children's viewing times with an emphasis on the number of food advertisements and the number of cariogenic food advertisements was systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed. Study design: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Articles published up until October 2017 in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Persian databases such as Magiran, IranDoc, and Iranmedex with the keywords that were related to advertising and oral health in children were searched and screened by two reviewers independently, and the outcomes of interest were extracted. Meta-analysis was performed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis, version 2.0. Results: A total of 480 titles were retrieved and reduced to 256 eligible studies after deletion of duplicates, and finally, after closer assessment of titles and abstracts, five articles were selected for systematic review and meta-analysis. Of the included studies, three were conducted in the UK, one in India, and one in Greece. About 38.0% (95% confidence interval: 19.6-60.6, P = 0.296) of advertisements were related to food and also about 70.6% (95% confidence interval: 53.7-83.3, P < 0.019) of food advertisements were related to cariogenic foods. Conclusions: Food advertising during children's programs is dominated by food items that are potentially harmful to oral health. Moreover, the advertisements shifted toward food items that appeared healthy but contain a large amount of hidden sugar. (c) 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.