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Abstract #155873

Nadine S. Braunstein, MS, RD, LDN, CDE¹, John Cook, PhD², Elizabeth A. Kaye, PhD, MPH³, Sibylle Kranz, PhD, RD⁴, Barbara E. Millen, DPH, RD, FADA⁵, and Martha E. Nunn, DDS, PhD³. (1) Graduate Program in Medical Nutrition Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine, 169 Fuller St., Brookline, MA 02446, 617-738-6033, nadinebraunstein@aol.com, (2) Growth and Development Program, Boston Medical Center, 725 Masssachusetts Ave., Mezzanine SW, Boston, MA 02118, (3) Health Policy and Health Services Research, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 715 Albany St, , 560, Boston, MA 02118, (4) Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 5 G Henderson Bldg, University Park, PA 16802, (5) Graduate Programs in Medical Nutrition Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine, One Boston Medical Center Plaza, Dowling 5, Boston, MA 02118

Background: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a form of dental caries that afflicts children younger than six years of age and affects overall health. Children in households with low food security are more likely to have fair or poor health than children in food secure homes.

Objective: To evaluate the associations of household food security and diet quality with ECC prevalence.

Methods: Children ages 2 to < 6 years from the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) who had dental exam, food security, and diet data were studied. The Revised Child Diet Quality Index (RC-DQI) was used to evaluate overall diet quality. A subscore of four RC-DQI components significantly associated with ECC was created and used in the logistic regression modeling. SAS v. 9.1 was used to derive odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals adjusted for the complex sampling design.

Results: 801 children were studied. The RC-DQI components associated with ECC prevalence were grains, whole grains, fruit, and energy balance. In the logistic model, children whose households were not fully food secure were 1.6 (95% CI 1.0 – 2.6) times as likely to have ECC as those from food secure homes after controlling for race/ethnicity, age, family smoking, and the RC-DQI subscore. Children in the highest diet quality quartile (best diet quality) subscore were 64% less likely to have ECC compared with those in the lowest quartile (worst diet quality).

Conclusion: Household food security and diet quality are independently associated with ECC prevalence.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the diet quality components associated with ECC. 2.Recognize that poor diet quality is associated with ECC . 3.Recognize that there is an association of household food security with ECC.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Food Security

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.