Cumulative lead exposure and tooth loss in men: the normative aging study.
BACKGROUND
Individuals previously exposed to lead remain at risk because of endogenous release of lead stored in their skeletal compartments. However, it is not known if long-term cumulative lead exposure is a risk factor for tooth loss.


OBJECTIVE
We examined the association of bone lead concentrations with loss of natural teeth.


METHODS
We examined 333 men enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study. We used a validated K-shell X-ray fluorescence (KXRF) method to measure lead concentrations in the tibial midshaft and patella. A dentist recorded the number of teeth remaining, and tooth loss was categorized as 0, 1-8 or > or = 9 missing teeth. We used proportional odds models to estimate the association of bone lead biomarkers with tooth loss, adjusting for age, smoking, diabetes, and other putative confounders.


RESULTS
Participants with > or = 9 missing teeth had significantly higher bone lead concentrations than those who had not experienced tooth loss. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, men in the highest tertile of tibia lead (> 23 microg/g) and patella lead (> 36 microg/g) had approximately three times the odds of having experienced an elevated degree of tooth loss (> or = 9 vs. 0-8 missing teeth or > or = 1 vs. 0 missing teeth) as those in the lowest tertile [prevalence odds ratio (OR) = 3.03; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.60-5.76 and OR = 2.41; 95% CI, 1.30-4.49, respectively]. Associations between bone lead biomarkers and tooth loss were similar in magnitude to the increased odds observed in participants who were current smokers.


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term cumulative lead exposure is associated with increased odds of tooth loss.
Arora
Manish
M
Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. marora@hsph.harvard.edu
Weuve
Jennifer
J
Weisskopf
Marc G
MG
Sparrow
David
D
Nie
Huiling
H
Garcia
Raul I
RI
Hu
Howard
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
D007854:Lead