Association between periodontal pockets and elevated cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
BACKGROUND
Periodontitis is associated with increased prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; however, the nature of this association is unclear. There is a rationale that indicates that the presence of periodontal pockets which can harbor pathogenic microorganisms and evoke a host response could elicit a systemic effect. The hypothesis of this study is that periodontal pockets may be associated with elevated blood lipid levels, a known risk factor for atherosclerotic disease.


METHODS
The periodontal health of 10,590 Israeli military service men and women was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN). The relationship of blood lipids and periodontal disease and CPITN index was tested, controlling for factors that are related to elevated cholesterol levels, including high body mass index (BMI), age, diastolic blood pressure, and smoking.


RESULTS
The presence of periodontal pockets was positively associated with higher cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol blood levels in men. No significant association was found in women.


CONCLUSIONS
In this large cohort study, the presence of periodontal pockets as measured by CPITN was positively associated with total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. The findings of the study support the reports linking increased prevalence of cardiovascular mortality among patients with periodontal disease.
Katz
Joseph
J
Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
Flugelman
Moshe Y
MY
Goldberg
Avishai
A
Heft
Marc
M
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000097:blood* / Q000382:microbiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000097:blood; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol