title: Associations of self-reported periodontal disease with metabolic syndrome and number of self-reported chronic conditions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasing evidence supports associations between periodontal disease and various chronic conditions. Possible explanations include chronic inflammatory processes, shared pathogens, and shared risk factors, such as smoking and psychosocial stress. The objective of this study was to assess associations of periodontal disease with metabolic syndrome and number of chronic diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of the Washington Adult Health Survey, a household-based cross-sectional study conducted during 2006-2007 among adults aged 25 years or older in Washington State, we collected questionnaire data, blood samples, and anthropometric measures. We used these data to assess associations of periodontal disease with metabolic syndrome and the number of self-reported chronic diseases, controlling for age, sex, annual household income, smoking, and psychosocial stress. We used both complete case and multiple imputation Poisson regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the adjusted complete case analysis, 1.4 times as many chronic conditions were found among people with severe compared with no periodontal disease, and people with severe periodontal disease were 1.5 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome than people with no periodontal disease. Arthritis and liver disease were individually associated with severe periodontal disease. Results of the multiple imputation analyses were similar.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that people with severe periodontal disease are likely to have more chronic diseases and are more likely to have metabolic syndrome compared with people without periodontal disease. Research about the effectiveness of periodontal treatment to help prevent or control chronic diseases is needed.
authors.affiliation: Washington State Department of Health, Office of Epidemiology, PO Box 47812, Olympia, WA 98504-7812, USA. Lillian.Bensley@doh.wa.gov
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bensley
authors.forename: Juliet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: VanEenwyk
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Ossiander
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001168:Arthritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology