title: All-cause mortality and periodontitis in 60-70-year-old men: a prospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between periodontitis and mortality from all causes in a prospective study in a homogenous group of 60- to 70-year-old West European men.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative sample of 1400 dentate men, (mean age 63.8, SD 3.0 years), drawn from the population of Northern Ireland, had a comprehensive periodontal examination between 2001 and 2003. Men were divided into thirds on the basis of their mean periodontal attachment loss (PAL). The primary endpoint, death from any cause, was analysed using Kaplan-Meier survival plots and Cox's proportional hazards model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 152 (10.9%) of the men died during a mean follow-up of 8.9 (SD 0.7) years; 37 (7.9%) men in the third with the lowest PAL (<1.8 mm) died compared with 73 (15.7%) in the third with the highest PAL (>2.6 mm). The unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) for death in the men with the highest level of PAL compared with those with the lowest PAL was 2.11 (95% CI 1.42-3.14), p < 0.0001. After adjustment for confounding variables (age, smoking, hypertension, BMI, diabetes, cholesterol, education, marital status and previous history of a cardiovascular event) the HR was 1.57 (1.04-2.36), p = 0.03.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The European men in this prospective cohort study with the most severe loss of periodontal attachment were at an increased risk of death compared with those with the lowest loss of periodontal attachment.
authors: Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. g.linden@qub.ac.uk
authors: Gerard J
authors: GJ
authors: Linden
authors: Katie
authors: K
authors: Linden
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Yarnell
authors: Alun
authors: A
authors: Evans
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Kee
authors: Chris C
authors: CC
authors: Patterson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009660:Northern Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality*; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data