title: Inter-generational continuity in periodontal health: findings from the Dunedin family history study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether parental periodontal disease history is a risk factor for periodontal disease in adult offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Proband periodontal examination [combined attachment loss (CAL) at age 32, and incidence of CAL from ages 26 to 32] and interview data were collected during the age-32 assessments in the Dunedin Study. Parental data were also collected. The sample was divided into two familial-risk groups for periodontal disease (high- and low-risk) based on parents' self-reported periodontal disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Periodontal risk analysis involved 625 proband-parent(s) groups. After controlling for confounding factors, the high-familial-risk periodontal group was more likely to have 1+ sites with 4+mm CAL [relative risk (RR) 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-1.88], 2+ sites with 4+mm CAL (RR 1.45; 95% CI 1.03-2.05), 1+ sites with 5+mm CAL (RR 1.60; 95% CI 1.02-2.50), and 1+ sites with 3+mm incident CAL (RR 1.64; 95% CI 1.01-2.66) than the low-familial-risk group. Predictive validity was enhanced when information was available from both parents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents with poor periodontal health tend to have offspring with poor periodontal health. Family/parental history of oral health is a valid representation of the shared genetic and environmental factors that contribute to an individual's periodontal status, and may help to predict patient prognosis and preventive treatment need.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Sciences, School of Dentistry, Dunedin, New Zealand Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, England. shearer@es.co.nz
authors.forename: Dara M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Shearer
authors.forename: W Murray
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Avshalom
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caspi
authors.forename: Terrie E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Moffitt
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Broadbent
authors.forename: Richie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poulton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children; D000367:Age Factors; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004777:Environment; D005192:Family Health; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000235:genetics; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009520:New Zealand; D010290:Parents; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000235:genetics; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000235:genetics; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000235:genetics