Externalizing behavior is prospectively associated with intake of added sugar and sodium among low socioeconomic status preschoolers in a sex-specific manner

Table 4 Association between externalizing SCBE T-scores at baseline and added sugar and sodium intake at follow-up

Baseline externalizing SCBE T-scores^a	Added sugar intake, % of Calories		Sodium intake, mg/1000 Calories
Baseline externalizing SCBE T-scores^a	Unadjusted beta (95% CI)^b	Adjusted beta (95% CI)^b,c	Unadjusted beta (95% CI)^b	Adjusted beta (95% CI)^b,c
Boys
Per 5-points lower T-score (more externalizing behaviors)	0.5 (0.1, 0.9)	0.6 (0.2, 1.1)	−19 (−41, 3)	−22 (−45, 1)
P value	0.008	0.004	0.09	0.06
Girls
Per 5-point lower T-score (more externalizing behaviors)	−0.5 (−0.9, −0.1)	−0.6 (−1.0, −0.1)	28 (8, 49)	24 (1, 46)
P value	0.03	0.01	0.007	0.04

^aHigher number of externalizing behaviors is equivalent to a lower T-score
^bFrom a linear mixed effects regression model with continuous added sugar (% of Calories) or sodium intake (mg/1000 Calories) as the outcome and continuous externalizing SCBE T-scores as the predictor, expressed per 5 points. The model also accounted for total energy intake at follow-up. A random intercept was specified to account for clustering by classroom
^cAdjusted for race/ethnicity, quartiles of income-to-needs ratio, and overweight/obese status at baseline as potential confounders

ISSN: 1479-5868