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Unbalanced diet, food insecurity increases children's risk for EBV
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Certain dietary factors and food insecurity may increase children’s risk for Epstein-Barr virus infection, according to study findings in the Journal of Primary Care and Community Health.
“Diet plays an important role in enhancing an individual’s immune response. Low dietary intake makes children susceptible to infection by compromising their immune response, thereby resulting in severe adverse health consequences,” study researcher Hesam Naenifard, MSPH, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and colleagues wrote. “Few studies to date have explored risk factors of EBV infection, and no study has examined the relationship between dietary factors and EBV infection in children.”
Researchers used available EBV data from the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for children aged 6 to 15 years (n = 1,550). More than half of the study population tested positive for EBV (56.4%).
Twenty-two percent of participants were from families with a household income less than $24,999, and 34.1% were from families with a household income of $75,000 or more.
Unadjusted analysis indicated children who drank 100% fruit juice (OR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.09-2.05), and ate beans (OR = 2.35; 95% CI, 1.12-4.94) or red meat (OR = 1.57; 95% CI, 1.09-2.24) daily had increased risk for EBV infection vs. children who consumed these diets monthly.
Parents who could not feed their child a balanced meal (OR = 2.42, 95% CI, 1.31-4.47) and relied on low-cost food often (OR = 2.84; 95% CI, 1.13-7.11) or sometimes (OR = 2.36; 95% CI, 1.22-4.55) increased their child’s risk for EBV.
When adjusting for confounders, the association between diet and food insecurity and EBV infection among study participants was not statistically significant.
“This study found a significant association between certain diets, food insecurity, and EBV infection in the unadjusted analyses only,” Naenifard and colleagues wrote. “The results are important with respect to promoting programs that help promote healthy eating and food security to enhance the immune system for the prevention of various viral infections.” – by Amanda Oldt
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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