Human herpesviruses and Porphyromonas gingivalis are associated with juvenile periodontitis.
BACKGROUND
Although herpesviruses have been associated with adult periodontitis, their relationship with juvenile periodontitis (JP) has not been established. This case-control study examined possible associations between JP and pathogenic bacteria, the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and the Epstein-Barr type 1 virus (EBV-1).


METHODS
Subjects were participants in a larger survey of schoolchildren in North-Central Jamaica. Subgingival plaque samples from 15 subjects with JP, 20 with incipient periodontitis (IP), and 65 randomly-selected healthy controls were assayed for Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans using a 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identification method, and for HCMV and EBV-1 using nested PCR identification.


RESULTS
Strong bivariate associations were found between JP and P. gingivalis (odds ratio [OR] = 12.7; 95% CI = 2.6, 61.4), HCMV (OR = 10.0; 95% CI = 2.7, 36.3), and A. actinomycetemcomitans (OR = 8.0; 95% CI = 2.3, 27.5), but not EBV-1. In multivariate analyses, P. gingivalis remained a significant explanatory variable (OR = 7.8; 95% CI = 1.5, 40.9); however, the associations were marginal for HCMV (OR = 4.6; 95% CI = 0.9, 22.7), and non-significant for A. actinomycetemcomitans (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 0.4, 9.7). The associations with JP and the extent of attachment loss were even stronger when both P. gingivalis and HCMV were detected together. P. gingivalis (OR = 3.9; 95% CI = 1.3, 12.0) and EBV-1 (OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.0, 10.3) were the only significant explanatory variables in the multivariate analysis of IP.


CONCLUSIONS
P. gingivalis is the strongest and most stable indicator of periodontitis in Jamaican adolescents. Co-infection with P. gingivalis and HCMV appears to be particularly deleterious to periodontal health.
Michalowicz
B S
BS
Department of Preventive Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Minneapolis, USA.
Ronderos
M
M
Camara-Silva
R
R
Contreras
A
A
Slots
J
J
D000189:Actinobacillus Infections; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans; D010520:Aggressive Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000821:virology; D016866:Bacteroidaceae Infections; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections; D006801:Humans; D007563:Jamaica; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016015:Logistic Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D010519:Periodontium / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis