Relationships between clinical attachment level and spine and hip bone mineral density: data from healthy postmenopausal women.
BACKGROUND
There are physiological reasons to expect an association between bone mineral density of the spine and hip and attachment loss. To this point, however, most studies have found no correlation.


METHODS
The 135 patients in this report were part of a randomized controlled trial of estrogen replacement. All patients were in good oral health at entry and received annual oral prophylaxis as part of the study. Standard probing measurements were made with a pressure sensitive probe at 6 sites on each tooth. Bone mineral density was measured with dual-energy x-ray absorbtiometry at the lumbar spine (anterior-posterior and lateral) and proximal femur (neck, trochanter, intertrochanter, Ward's triangle, and total area). These procedures were performed at baseline and at annual intervals for 3 years.


RESULTS
Correlations between cross-sectional measurements of clinical attachment level and bone mineral density were very weak, and did not approach statistical significance (-0.06 < or =r < or =0.10, 0.15 < or =P < or =0.75). A few somewhat stronger correlations were found between longitudinal changes in bone mineral density and attachment (-0.20 < or = r < or =-0.02, 0.02 < or = P < or =0.81). Although the correlations in the longitudinal changes were weak, they were consistently in the direction of greater bone mineral density being associated with less attachment loss.


CONCLUSIONS
There is no clear association between clinical attachment level and bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and proximal femur, whether examined on a cross-sectional or longitudinal basis. Patterns in the data suggest there may be a weak association in the longitudinal changes.
Pilgram
Thomas K
TK
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Hildebolt
Charles F
CF
Dotson
Mary
M
Cohen
Sheldon C
SC
Hauser
Jay F
JF
Kardaris
Eugenia
E
Civitelli
Roberto
R
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000473:pathology; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis