Determinants of serum IgG responses to periodontal bacteria in a nationally representative sample of US adults.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the distribution of elevated antibody titres to multiple periodontal bacteria, including established/putative pathogens and health-related species, by selected demographic, behavioural, and oral- and general health-related characteristics.


METHODS
Data from 8153 >or=40-year-old participants from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used, including 1588 edentulous individuals. We used checkerboard immunoblotting to assess serum IgG levels to 19 periodontal species. Thresholds for elevated antibody responses were defined for each species using the 90th percentile titre in periodontal healthy participants, using two alternative definitions of periodontitis.


RESULTS
Edentulous individuals showed lower antibody responses than dentate participants, notably for titres to "red complex" species and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Elevated titres to Porphyromonas gingivalis were twice as prevalent in participants with periodontitis than in periodontal healthy individuals. Non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican-Americans were more likely to display elevated titres for P. gingivalis compared with non-Hispanic whites (22.9%versus 19.4%versus 9.5%). Current smokers were significantly less likely to exhibit high titres to multiple bacteria than never smokers.


CONCLUSIONS
Demographic, behavioural, and oral- and general health-related characteristics were strong determinants of systemic antibody responses to periodontal bacteria in a nationally representative sample of US adults.
Vlachojannis
Christian
C
Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral and Diagnostic Sciences, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Dye
Bruce A
BA
Herrera-Abreu
Miriam
M
Pikdöken
Levent
L
Lerche-Sehm
Julia
J
Pretzl
Bernadette
B
Celenti
Romanita
R
Papapanou
Panos N
PN
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000276:immunology; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000382:microbiology*; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000276:immunology; D012907:Smoking; D014481:United States
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G