Groups from the Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Department of Oral Health and Department of Community Medicine Publish Results of Research on Relationship between Periodontitis and Arteriosclerosis

[Groups from the Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Department of Oral Health and Department of Community Medicine Publish Results of Research on Relationship between Periodontitis and Arteriosclerosis]

Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Professor Toshiyuki Saito, from the Department of Oral Health, and Professor Takahiro Maeda, from the Department of Community Medicine, identified an association of periodontitis with arteriosclerosis, based on the results of research in the city of Goto.

Based on the diagnostic results of 1053 subjects aged 40 and above with 10 or more teeth who participated in comprehensive health checkups in Goto between 2008 and 2010, the groups analyzed the relationships between average periodontal pocket depth, intima-media thickness (IMT), and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), which indicates whole body arterial stiffness.

Even after taking into consideration other factors which affect arteriosclerosis, such as age, sex, smoking history, obesity, blood pressure, and cholesterol, the researchers found that an increase of 1mm in average periodontal pocket depth corresponded to an IMT increase of 0.02mm (P=0.049), and a 43% higher risk of carotid thickening (P=0.017). Likewise, a 1mm increase in average pocket depth corresponded to a CAVI increase of 0.13 (P=0.040), and a 32% rise in the risk of abnormal CAVI values (CAVI?8.0) (P=0.047).

Based on these, it is clear that carotid artery wall thickness increases in line with the severity of periodontitis, and that periodontitis has an impact in overall arterial stiffness.

These research results were published in the European arteriosclerosis journal "Atherosclerosis" (July 2013).

The electronic version can be viewed at the site below.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2013.04.002

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