Intake and serum levels of micronutrients and chronic oral diseases burden

Objective: To investigate pathways from micronutrient intake and serum levels to Chronic Oral Diseases Burden. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from NHANES III (n = 7936) and NHANES 2011-2014 (n = 4929). The exposure was the intake and serum levels of vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus. Considering the high correlation of those micronutrients in the diet, they were analyzed as a latent variable dubbed Micronutrient intake. The outcome was the Chronic Oral Diseases Burden, a latent variable formed by probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss, furcation involvement, caries, and missing teeth. Pathways triggered by gender, age, socioeconomic status, obesity, smoking, and alcohol were also estimated using structural equation modeling. Results: In both NHANES cycles, micronutrient intake (p-value < 0.05) and vitamin D serum ( p-value < 0.05) were associated with a lower Chronic Oral Diseases Burden. Micronutrient intake reduced the Chronic Oral Diseases Burden via vitamin D serum (p-value < 0.05). Obesity increased the Chronic Oral Diseases Burden by reducing vitamin D serum (p-value < 0.05). Conclusion: Higher micronutrient intake and higher vitamin D serum levels seem to reduce Chronic Oral Diseases Burden. Healthy diet policies may jointly tackle caries, periodontitis, obesity, and other non-communicable diseases.

Automated summary

This study investigated the pathways from micronutrient intake and serum levels to Chronic Oral Diseases Burden using data from NHANES III (n = 7936) and NHANES 2011-2014 (n = 4929). The results showed that higher micronutrient intake and higher vitamin D serum levels were associated with a lower burden of chronic oral diseases. These findings suggest that healthy diet policies can contribute to the prevention and reduction of caries, periodontitis, obesity, and other non-communicable diseases.