Associations Between Posterior Functional Contacts and Nutrient Intakes and Serum Nutrient Values Among Adults in NHANES 2003-2004

Purpose: To examine the associations between the numbers of posterior functional contacts (FCs) and selected nutrient intakes and serum/plasma nutrient values in 3,554 adults 25 years of age and older from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Materials and Methods: FCs consist of the number of zones of contact between the maxillary and opposing mandibular posterior teeth when the maxillary and mandibular posterior teeth are together. There were 16 possible zones of contact. Nutrient intakes were calculated from one 24-h dietary recall and selected nutritional biochemistries were measured. Multivariate linear regression was used to examine the association between the numbers of FCs and nutrient intakes or serum/plasma nutrient values, controlling for potential confounding variables. Results: Males with 6 or more FCs had higher vitamin A (P 0.05), C (P 0.05), E (P 0.01) and B-6 intakes (P 0.05) than those with 5 or fewer FCs. Females with 6 or more FCs had higher dietary ber (P 0.05), vitamin E (P 0.05) and folate intakes (P 0.05) than those with 5 or fewer FCs. Males and females with 6 or more FCs had higher serum β-carotene than those with 5 or fewer FCs (P 0.05 and P 0.001, respectively). Males with 6 or more FCs had higher serum folate levels than those with 5 or fewer FCs (P 0.01), and females with 6 or more FCs had higher serum vitamin C levels than those with 5 or fewer FCs (P 0.05). Conclusions: Dietary intakes and serum levels of certain nutrients differ by the number of FCs present. Keywords: dietary recall, functional contacts, NHANES, serum nutrients