title: Radiographic assessment of dental health in middle-aged men following sudden cardiac death.
abstract: Poor oral health has been suggested to be a risk factor for myocardial infarction. To study if dental pathology might predispose to pre-hospital sudden cardiac death, and using a sum index of panoramic tomography findings, we compared the oral health of middle-aged (33-69 yrs) male victims (Helsinki Sudden Death Study) of sudden cardiac death (n = 117) with that of controls, who died of non-cardiac diseases (n = 63) or suffered unnatural sudden death (n = 120). The mean number of teeth was 15.2, and 17.4% of the men were edentulous. Frequent age-associated findings in dentate victims were fillings (79.9%), horizontal bone loss (72.1%), periapical lesions (45.6%), residual roots (38.2%), and vertical pockets (30.9%). In multivariate analysis with coronary heart disease risk factors and number of teeth as covariates, poor oral health was associated (p = 0.053) with the risk of sudden cardiac death along with age, smoking, and body mass index. This association was especially strong (p = 0.009) among victims < 50 yrs.
authors.affiliation: Medical School, University of Tampere and Research Unit of Clinical Chemistry, Tampere University Hospital, Finland. vesa.karhunen@fimnet.fi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Karhunen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Forss
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goebeler
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ilveskoski
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kajander
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mikkelsson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Penttilä
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perola
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ranta
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Meurman
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Karhunen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002102:Cadaver; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D017823:Furcation Defects / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009909:Oral Health; D010483:Periapical Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014056:Tomography, X-Ray; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging