Table 4.

Comparison of Food Modification and Avoidance Practices, by Xerostomia Index Tertiles¹

Food modification or avoidance practice2	Xerostomia tertile 3 vs. 1	Xerostomia tertile 2 vs. 1	P-value
	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)
Modify 4 or 5 foods	6.71 (4.07, 11.07)	1.92 (1.11, 3.29)	<.0001
Modify carrots	2.10 (1.05, 4.20)	1.25 (0.60, 2.60)	0.028
Modify apples	4.42 (2.48, 7.86)	1.88 (1.18, 2.99)	<.0001
Modify meat	4.83 (2.74, 8.52)	2.39 (1.39, 4.14)	<.0001
Modify greens	4.87 (3.08, 7.68)	2.56 (1.50, 4.37)	<.0001
Modify beans and legumes	5.28 (2.97, 9.38)	1.69 (0.91, 3.11)	<.0001
Avoid 1–2 vs. avoid 0 foods	1.33 (0.62, 2.87)	0.79 (0.45, 1.40)	<.0001
Avoid 3–14 vs. avoid 0 foods	5.97 (2.92, 12.22)	1.46 (0.70, 3.04)
Avoid carrots	2.66 (1.58, 4.48)	1.39 (0.73, 2.68)	0.001
Avoid apples	2.81 (1.61, 4.91)	1.14 (0.62, 2.07)	<.0001
Avoid popcorn	3.60 (1.63, 7.95)	1.57 (0.72, 3.44)	0.001
Avoid berries	2.27 (0.80, 6.44)	1.79 (0.80, 3.99)	0.272
Avoid tomatoes	5.67 (1.03, 31.24)	4.85 (0.67, 34.91)	0.126
Avoid lettuce	5.78 (1.80, 18.62)	2.27 (0.80, 6.50)	0.012
Avoid corn	6.79 (2.58, 17.90)	2.91 (1.32, 6.41)	0.001
Avoid nuts	4.90 (2.51, 9.54)	1.63 (0.72, 3.70)	<.0001
Avoid pork chops	4.42 (1.78, 10.94)	1.65 (0.55, 4.94)	<.0001
Avoid steak	6.32 (1.94, 20.63)	2.11 (0.58, 7.66)	<.0001
Avoid fried chicken	5.34 (1.58, 18.02)	1.77 (0.43, 7.39)	0.002
Avoid candy	1.98 (0.96, 4.08)	0.87 (0.51, 1.47)	0.001

¹Adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, education, poverty and number of teeth.

²Items for avoiding hamburgers/ground beef, baked chicken, and fish or shrimp were excluded because few persons (<7) reported the practices