Relationship between dietary diversity and oral frailty in elderly gynecologic tumor patients

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between dietary diversity and oral frailty in elderly gynecologic tumor patients. A total of 180 gynecologic tumor patients treated in our hospital from January 2021 to December 2024 were selected. Patients were divided into an oral frailty group (n = 71) and a non-oral frailty group (n = 109) based on the occurrence of oral frailty ( ≥ 4). Influencing factors were analyzed using univariate and binary logistic regression analysis. The correlation between variables was assessed with Pearson correlation analysis. The predictive value of Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) for the occurrence of oral frailty in elderly gynecologic tumor patients was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve, and the dietary intake of patients with different oral frailty statuses was observed. The average DDS score among the 180 patients was 3.96 ± 1.39. There was no statistically significant difference in DDS among patients with different general characteristics (P > .05). Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in general characteristics between the oral frailty group and the non-oral frailty group (P > .05). However, a statistically significant difference was observed between DDS and smoking status (P < .05). Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that DDS was a significant factor influencing the occurrence of oral frailty in elderly gynecologic tumor patients (P < .05). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the area under the DDS predictive curve was 0.883, with a standard error of 0.025 (95% confidence interval: 0.834-0.932, P < .001); the Youden index was 0.60, with a sensitivity of 70.42% and specificity of 89.91%. The optimal cutoff value was 4.5. There was no statistically significant difference in the intake of eggs, fish, milk, and dairy products (P > .05), while there were statistically significant differences in the intake of meat, legumes, yogurt, vegetables, and fruits (P < .05). Pearson linear correlation analysis showed that Oral Frailty Index-8 was negatively correlated with vegetable intake, fruit intake, and DDS (r = -0.300, -0.233, -0.338, respectively; P < .05). Increased severity of oral frailty in elderly gynecologic tumor patients is associated with reduced dietary diversity.

Keywords: dietary diversity; gynecologic tumor; oral frailty.