Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Department of Comprehensive Care, College of Dentistry, Howard University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
J Dent Educ. 2023 Nov;87(11):1574-1584. doi: 10.1002/jdd.13344. Epub 2023 Aug 3.
Food insecurity is associated with lower diet quality, adverse health outcomes, and academic difficulty among undergraduate students. The objective was to identify the relationship between food security status and diet quality in dental students.
All dental students attending Howard University (n = 286) or the University of Iowa (n = 326) during the fall 2021 semester were invited to complete a cross-sectional survey designed to query demographics, food security status (i.e., United States Department of Agriculture's ten item Adult Food Security Module), and diet quality (i.e., short Healthy Eating Index). The survey was administered using the Qualtrics platform.
Response rates were similar for Howard (32.5%) and Iowa (29.4%). Students with food insecurity (46.0%) were slightly older and more likely to be Black or other, first generation professional/graduate students, and receive financial aid than peers with food security (p < 0.050). Food insecurity was associated with lower intakes of fruits and vegetables (p ≤ 0.005), higher intakes of added sugars (p < 0.001), and lower diet quality (p = 0.003). In linear regression analyses that controlled for other variables, food insecurity (p = 0.012), school site (p = 0.027), and gender (p = 0.039) were predictive of lower diet quality.
The inability to procure adequate and appropriate foods was associated with marginal dietary habits (i.e., less than ideal food choices and eating behaviors) and lower diet quality in dental students. Both marginal dietary habits and lower diet quality increase chronic disease risk and may present a barrier to academic success. Addressing food insecurity among dental students is necessary to ensure equitable opportunities for a healthy workforce in the future.
食品不安全与本科生饮食质量差、健康状况不佳和学业困难有关。本研究旨在确定牙科学生的食品保障状况与饮食质量之间的关系。
邀请 2021 年秋季在霍华德大学（n=286）或爱荷华大学（n=326）就读的所有牙科学生参加一项横断面调查，该调查旨在询问人口统计学特征、食品保障状况（即美国农业部的十项成人食品保障模块）和饮食质量（即短期健康饮食指数）。该调查使用 Qualtrics 平台进行管理。
霍华德大学（32.5%）和爱荷华大学（29.4%）的回复率相似。与有食品保障的同龄人相比，食品不安全的学生（46.0%）年龄稍大，更有可能是黑人或其他族裔、第一代专业/研究生，并且获得经济援助（p<0.050）。食品不安全与水果和蔬菜摄入量较低（p≤0.005）、添加糖摄入量较高（p<0.001）和饮食质量较低（p=0.003）有关。在校正其他变量的线性回归分析中，食品不安全（p=0.012）、学校地点（p=0.027）和性别（p=0.039）是饮食质量较低的预测因素。
无法获得足够和适当的食物与边缘饮食习惯（即不理想的食物选择和饮食习惯）和牙科学生的饮食质量较低有关。边缘饮食习惯和较低的饮食质量都会增加慢性病风险，并可能成为学业成功的障碍。解决牙科学生的食品不安全问题对于确保未来健康劳动力的公平机会是必要的。
