Longitudinal relationship between diet intake and dental diseases in elderly

Objectives: This study evaluated the relationship between nutritional intake and dental caries or periodontal disease controlling for several confounding factors.

Methods: 600 subjects aged 70 were randomly selected. The number of teeth on which root caries occurred or where there was a periodontal event over a 6-year period was taken. To determine quantitative food intake, a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was measured. The stepwise method of multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of the number of root caries or periodontal disease events during 6 years. Intake of the 6 food groups ((1) fish, shellfish, meat, beans, eggs; (2) milk and milk products; (3) dark green and yellow vegetables; (4) other vegetables and fruits; (5) cereals, nuts and seeds, sugar and sweeteners, confectionaries; and (6) fats and oils), alcohol and other five variables were used as independent variables.

Results: According to stepwise multiple regression analysis, two variables (amount of milk and milk products, and gender) were negatively associated with the number of root caries events. The standadized coefficients were -0.14 (p=0.035) and -0.17 (p=0.007), respectively. In addition, dark green and yellow vegetables were negatively, and three other variables (cereals, nuts and seeds, sugar and sweeteners, confectionaries; alcohol; and the number of remaining teeth at baseline) were positively associated with the number of periodontal disease events. The standaized coefficients were -0.16 (p=0.001), 0.11 (p=0.042), 0.10 (p=0.041) and 0.58 (p<0.001), respectively.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that intake of milk and milk products in this elderly population correlated with root caries events. In addition, intake of vegetables negatively correlated, and intake of “cereals, nuts and seeds, sugar and sweeteners, confectionaries” positively correlated with periodontal disease events.