The Healthy Eating Index and Oral Health among Adults: A finding from a Prospective Cohort Study in Iran

Abstract Background: This study was conducted to investigate the association between decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index and nutritional status based on Healthy Eating Index (HEI), in Iranian adults.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data from the Ravansar Non-Communicable Diseases (RaNCD) cohort study were analyzed. DMFT index was employed as a measurement of oral health. The HEI-2015 score was calculated based on data obtained from Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and categorized into quartiles to best separate those with better quality diets (Q4), mixed quality diets (Q2-Q3), and poor quality diets (Q1). Linear regression models were used to assess the association between HEI-2015 and DMFT.Results: 7,549 participants with the mean age of 45.65 ± 7.70, 3741 of which were female (49.56%), were evaluated. The mean of DMFT in Q4 of HEI-2015 was significantly lower than the Q1 (12.64± 7.04 vs. 14.29± 7.54, P<0.001). The mean of DMFT in higher SES was significantly lower than low SES (P<0.001). The increasing DMFT in the Q1 of HEI-2015 was significantly 0.11 times lower than in the Q4, after adjusting for confounding variables (β= -0.11; 95% CI: -0.54, -0.30). The increasing dairy intake (β= -0.08, 95% CI: -0.13, -0.03) was significantly associated with decreasing DMFT score and increasing refined grains (β= 0.20, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.35) and sodium (β= 0.06, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.11) intake was significantly associated with increasing DMFT score. Conclusions: A healthy diet was significantly associated with a decrease in DMFT score in the studied population.