The impact of the sugar tax on childhood dental caries in England

The distributional and financial impacts of the soft drinks industry levy on childhood dental caries in england

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN17412377

Enrollment

Registered

2024-08-02

Start date

2024-11-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-08-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Childhood dental caries Oral Health

Interventions

The soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) came into effect in England on 6th April 2018. The SDIL is a two-tiered levy: drinks with >=8 g of sugar per 100 ml are taxed at 24 pence per litre (higher levy ti

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Children that were admitted to hospital for the primary or control outcomes between 2008 and 2024

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Not meeting the participant inclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Social inequalities (absolute and relative) in admission rates for caries-related extractions according to area deprivation, ethnicity and urbanicity measured using NHS Digital data at one time point	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The following secondary outcome measures assess the inequalities in the below negative control outcomes to account for confounding events and co-interventions ad are measured using NHS Digital data at one time point. These control outcomes are common reasons for hospitalization among children that were affected by the lockdowns during the pandemic but are unlikely to be affected by the SDIL: 1. Hospital admissions for bilateral tonsillectomies 2. Ventilation support for asthmatic patients 3. Appendicectomies 4. Removal of a foreign body from the nose or ear .	—

Measure

Time frame

The following secondary outcome measures assess the inequalities in the below negative control outcomes to account for confounding events and co-interventions ad are measured using NHS Digital data at one time point. These control outcomes are common reasons for hospitalization among children that were affected by the lockdowns during the pandemic but are unlikely to be affected by the SDIL: 1. Hospital admissions for bilateral tonsillectomies 2. Ventilation support for asthmatic patients 3. Appendicectomies 4. Removal of a foreign body from the nose or ear .

—

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactEduardo Bernabe

e.bernabe@qmul.ac.uk44 (0)20 7882 3704

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026